MMA referee Mario Yamasaki has been often-maligned for his epic blunders in the cage. Whether he’s letting an actual assault occur in front of him without stopping it or simply screwing up calls entirely.
Whatever the case may be, Yamasaki has been a thorn in UFC President Dana White’s side, and that dynamic once again reared its ugly head concerning the Valentina Shevchenko vs. Priscila Cachoeira bout in Brazil on Saturday night.
With a long and not-so-illustrious career spanning nearly two decades as a referee for the UFC, let’s take a look a the seven worst screw-ups by Mario Yamasaki during his tenure in the UFC!
7. Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater – UFC 142
Back in 2012, Silva was a hot welterweight prospect who had scored an emphatic 40-second knockout in his UFC debut. Next, he was paired with WEC veteran Carlo Prater at UFC 142 in Brazil.
Things began well enough, with Silva hurting Prater early before hunting for another sub-minute knockout. Then, Mario Yamasaki happened.
The fight was waved off about 30 seconds into the first round, which seemed righteous enough. Silva was pounding on a prime Prater, anyone watching that New that the fight was over.
But Yamasaki had a different outcome in mind. He errantly accused Silva of striking Prater in the back of the head. Maybe in the heat of the moment, it appeared that way, but replays showed the punches were legal and the fight should have been a TKO. Unfortunately, it was too late though. To Yamasaki’s credit, he doesn’t have the benefit of immediate replay, but it was still such a botched call.
Joe Rogan even confronted Yamasaki in the cage after the fight, questioning why he deemed it a disqualification loss for Silva.
Just one of many Yamasaki blunders.
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