FEG had a press conference in Tokyo on April 10 and announced the matchups of the Featherweight GP 2nd round at DREAM.9. Norifumi Kid Yamamoto attended and commented about his condition and his opponent.

"I haven't fought for 1.5 years and am very excited to come back. I will condition well and be careful not to get injured before the fight again. I respect Joe Warren. Wining in the world Greco-Roman wrestling tournament is definitely the great achievement. I will find out how good he is in the fight."

He suffered an injury on his right knee before DREAM.5 on July 21, 2008 and was diagnosed that it would take 6 months to heal completely. "It took 3 to 4 months to recover, and the rehab was extremely tough. I had been depressed while I was being hospitalized; however, I could find my weakness and what I need to work on." He started his proftraining for the next fight 2 months ago. "I am still anxious about the condition of my knee, but I will be fine."

He was asked if he was interested in fighting a popular K-1 Max fighter Masato, who is retiring in the end of this year, in July. "My fans often ask me the same question, but I'm not interested in fighting him. I want to focus on wining the the featherweight GP."