Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Darren Uyenoyama

The fifth bout of UFC on FOX 1 featured Darren Uyenoyama taking on Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto in a bantamweight contest.

Yamamoto avoided Uyenoyama's attempts to clinch up and bring the fight to the ground, and circled to his left as he looked for openings to strike. After a struggle in the clinch Yamamoto sent his opponent sailing to his back with a shoulder throw. Uyenoyama escaped the position, caught a kick from Yamamoto and dropped him to his back. Yamamoto struggled to avoid having his back taken but ultimately Uyenoyama fully took control. Uyenoyama latched on a rear naked choke with 15 seconds to go, Yamamoto was in deep trouble and appeared to be in trouble of being put to sleep, but survived the round.

Yamamoto landed a big left hand to start the second round and blood immediately poured from Uyenoyama's head as he tried to wrestle Kid to the ground. Uyenoyama completed the takedown, moved to half-guard, and looked extremely confident in his grappling. Uyenoyama again took Kid's back, this time with a body triangle. The bloodied Uyenoyama maintained back control, nearly slipped in another rear naked choke, but Yamamoto's defense was good enough to protect his neck. Uyenoyama attacked with punches to the side of the had in became a dominant round after the early left hand from Kid.

Yamamoto landed a low kick after a slow opening to the third round. Uyenoyama pulled guard, moved to rubber guard, controlling Yamamoto's position until he finally escaped back to his feet. Yamamoto had a limited amount of time to pull off a much-needed finish, with the underdog Uyenoyama seemingly having pulled off the impressive upset.

The judges scored the contest 30-27, 30-26, and 30-27 in favor of the winner, Darren Uyenoyama. Speaking with Joe Rogan in the post fight interview, Uyenoyama commented "I wouldn't have imagined being here 10 years ago."