Referee Mario Yamasaki gave 27-year-old rising welterweight star Erick Silva his first UFC loss Saturday night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after ruling his 29-second stoppage of Carlo Prater a disqualification.
Most people, if not all, who were watching the UFC 142 main card bout live likely assumed Yamasaki halted the action to award Silva the TKO victory. However, Yamasaki explained afterward he he had stopped the fight due to alleged illegal blows to the back of the head by Silva, and instead of winning, he had in fact been disqualified.
If Prater had been able to continue, Yamasaki could have just deducted a point from Silva and the fight could have proceeded, but because Prater had been TKO’d, Yamasaki was forced to make a ruling and unfortunately, by most accounts, it was the wrong one.
The most immediate reaction to the call came from UFC color commentator Joe Rogan who traditionally interviews the fighters after each bout. It is rare for Rogan to talk with referees during the Pay-Per-View broadcast after the fight, but as the replay of the final moments of the Silva-Prater fight played on the big screen, Rogan confronted referee Yamasaki about his decision to rule the fight a disqualification for Erick Silva:
Rogan: Mario, what was it about this that made you want to make this a disqualification, it looks fine from here?
Yamasaki: See, I was telling him, ‘Don’t hit the back of the head, don’t hit the back of the head.’
Rogan: But it seems he is hitting the side of the head. That doesn’t look like the back of the head to me man.
Yamasaki: That’s not back of the head?
Rogan: One looked like back of the head. It looks like he’s going way out of his way to try to hit the sides of the head. Is this a judgment call, are you happy with this call? Right now, how are you feeling about this?
Yamasaki: I have to decide right here, right now.
Rogan: I understand, you have to decide in the moment. But right now, how do you feel about it looking at that replay?
Yamasaki: Well, he hit some in the back of the head, and some not in the back of the head, but I have to decide right there and then, there’s nothing I can do.
Rogan: Erick, please come here again. Mario Yamasaki is a great referee. I think he made a mistake here. How do you feel about this?
Erick Silva: I have great respect for the referee. I think that most hit the side of the head. I don’t see any that hit the back of the head.
Rogan: I agree with that. I think you had a spectacular performance. I’m very sorry that this will not go as an official victory. In my mind it’s a victory.
In a thread entitled “I love Mario Yamasaki” started by Rogan at 3:45 a.m. this morning on the UG, he explained his reasons for confronting Yamasaki:
He’s a great guy, and I’m always happy to see him. When I step into the octagon however, I represent the people watching at home that might have obvious questions, and when something is controversial I’m forced to confront it honestly because that’s what I would want to hear from a person in my position if I was a fan watching it at home.
It was obviously a controversial call, and I’m sure some of you agree with it, but I certainly think it’s also possible to argue that it was a bad call. That was my perspective, so I had to express it. I’m not a perfect person, and I [expletive] up all the time. It’s a part of life. …
I think Mario Yamasaki is one of the best in the world at refereeing MMA. No doubt about it. He’s got great insight to the sport, he’s a life long martial artist, and he’s a really smart guy. …
What I was acting from, is that I saw an incredible young talent get denied a KO victory for a questionable call. When I entered into the Octagon and was told of the official ruling that Silva was going to be disqualified for illegal blows to the back of the head everyone that I was around who heard the news opened their mouths in shock. Everyone said, “what?”
The people in the truck couldn’t believe it. I had to read it back to them because I thought it was a mistake, and when I leaned over to explain it to Goldie he couldn’t believe it either. I had to ask Mario about it. I didn’t know how he was going to respond, but I had to ask him.
UFC President Dana White did not agree with Yamasaki’s call either and announced that Erick Silva would be paid his win bonus. He also indicated the incident is just one more example of why instant replay is needed in the sport.
Yamasaki was not the only referee to make a questionable call Saturday night. In the co-main event fight between Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson, referee Dan Miragliotta was repeatedly quick to stand the fighters up, giving little time for the fight to play out on the ground.
You can read our commentary on each of the fights as they happened live here: UFC 142 LIVE results and play-by-play and see ProMMAnow.com’s complete UFC 142 coverage here: UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes.
i have a feeling Mirg was told to not let Rumble lay on top to rest before the fight. It was widely speculated because of the weight cut, he would pull another Hardy and the UFC was pissed about his unprofessional-ism.
I wonder if referees ever bet on fights (or have a friend bet for them) and it has ever had an effect on the calls they make in the cage? Just a question…
I wonder if referees ever bet on fights (or have a friend bet for them) and that can have an effect on the calls they make in the cage? Just a question… For instance… Mario’s ruling could have either won or lost money for someone… Just a questions… wish someone would investigate referees and gambling.
Mario Yamasaki is Brazilian so he probally told Silva not to hit the back of the head in portuguese.
I don’t know if he was told that or not…but it was clear IMO that Mirgliotta intentionally stood Johnson/Belfort up quicky several times as well as in the clinch…if he had only done it once…I’m like ‘ok’….but THAT many times…yea…blatant.
The thing I don’t understand is Rogan’s replay “evidence” is three shots hitting what could be described as the back of the head. One was direct, two or three were more than debateable.
I like when Rogan calls things out, but I like it when he calls things out I agree with. One thing is I wish he would call out referee’s for early stoppages more.
The comment about Erick possibly not understanding any warnings from Mario, is a non issue, Mario is Brazilian himself and was speaking to Erick in portuguese. This however does not affect the validity of the call one way or the other.
The replay shows that the first shot (a significant blow) was to the back of the head. Many shots following that grazed the back of the head and hit the side of the head simultaneously (occipital bone and temporal bone). I agree with the ref., but it’s still a shame that it was a disqualification.
I agree with the referee Yamasaki! Definitely blows to the back of the head, is Joe Rogan blind? His unprofessional and disrespectful behaviour is the worst I ever seen in sport!
What you mean by
“Yamasaki said he was telling Silva not to hit the back of the head. And while that may be true, Silva speaks Portugese, so there is a real possibility he would not have understood what was being said by Yamasaki ”
Yamasaki is also Brazilian as were the two fighters I am 100% sure all his instructions were given in Portuguese, the native tongue of three men.
Good point. I did not realize Yamasaki was Brazilian. My error. Thank you good sir.
plausible but unrealistic, if you were that “friend” you would not be a public figure, beting for someone public would give you too much smear power, could you afford to place your credibility and experience on a bet that could cost you everything you have professionally? no you probably wouldn’t. you can’t bet enough to make it worth the risk without a money/ information trail back to you. people ask the same question about casino surveillance/ pit supervisors the truth is the ones that do it always get caught.
[…] (blog)UFC 142: The Fans Who Cried Wolf!Bleacher ReportMMAFighting.com -Heavy.com -Pro MMA Nowall 53 news […]