After reviewing the finish during the Erick Silva and Carlo Prater bout at UFC 142, the controversial decision will not be overturned by UFC Vice-President of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner, and will stand as a disqualification.
Although there was no instant replay at cageside to analyze and review the decision, Ratner released a statement to address the matter further:
“Based on the referee’s verbal warnings and his determination that the blows were intentional and a disqualifying foul, this is not the type of decision that can be reviewed,” Ratner wrote. “Therefore, the decision stands.”
During the bout, Silva appeared to hurt his opponent with a body kick that dropped Prater, and the Brazilian proceeded to ground-and-pound and was the verge of recording the victory. However, referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the bout, and rewarded Prater with the win after ruling some of Silva’s strikes as illegal blows.
The bout was stopped due to illegal blows to the back of the head. It should be noted that the UFC and the sport need to invest their time into including video replay at UFC events for the foreseeable future.
Many critics will continue to interpret illegal strikes differently, and until instant replay is enforced, the UFC will likely continue to deal with the controversy that surrounds officiating and referees in mixed martial arts.
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