Tag: Mario Yamasaki

Several controversial angles emerged from Valentina Shevchenko’s grossly one-sided beatdown of Octagon newcomer Priscila Cachoeira in the co-main event of last Saturday night’s (Feb. 3, 2018) UFC Belem in Brazil, a fight where ‘Bullet’ out-landed her overmatched opponent by a gaping margin of 230-3.

The first and most prevalent talking point was the unwillingness of disgraced referee Mario Yamasaki to stop the fight, which could have easily happened at several junctures as Cachoeira continued to eat huge ground damage without attempting to escape a dominated position. When she finally did tap out from a rear-naked choke, it appeared she had to do so more than once for Yamasaki to stop the fight.

UFC president Dana White quickly called out the highly-criticized referee, but there was also the fact that he and the UFC booked Cachoeira, who had eight MMA bouts going into UFC Belem, in her debut against a former bantamweight title contender who has only lost to current champion Amanda Nunes her entire career. It’s a fair question to ponder.

Finally, there was the issue of Cachoeira’s corner perhaps throwing in the towel, something we almost never see in a toughness-focused sport like MMA. It was never an option, either, as Cachoeira posted on her own Instagram account (translated via MMA Junkie) that she would fight Shevchenko again her coaches know her limits and would never quit for her:

“I will fight any fighter in the world, regardless of her standings. I’d fight Valentina another 10 times without even thinking twice. Those who pick easy battles aren’t true warriors. And the treatment and the intimacy I have with my master… Those on the outside don’t know anything to criticize it. This isn’t master and student. It’s father and daughter. And no one can say how he’s supposed to treat me. As for throwing the towel: This is (team) PRVT, and we’re the ones who know my limits. Throwing the towel, never.”

Fala galera , passando pra dizer que está tudo bem, demorei a falar pois não estava com o cel e estava no hospital…Então… Vamos lá, peço perdão aos meus fãs e amigos e familiares que fizeram uma festa para vê a minha luta.. Peguei uma lutadora duríssima que no qual eu sou fã, e na hora da luta eu não fui a verdadeira Pedrita, Quem me conhece e está presente no meu dia a dia sabe oque eu poderia render..E mesmo tendo lesionado o joelho logo no comecinho da luta fui até o final porque não sei oque é desistir.. Vou ter que fazer cirurgia no ligamento cruzado e menisco… E Tem muita gente falando sobre eu ter lutado contra a top 1 e etc , que o mestre me mandou calar a boca e bla blá kkkk…Vamos lá.. LUTO CONTRA QUALQUER LUTADORA DO MUNDO, NÃO IMPORTA A POSIÇÃO QUE ELA OCUPE… LUTARIA COM A VALENTINA MAIS 10 VEZES SEM PENSAR DUAS VEZES..QUEM ESCOLHE BATALHA FÁCIL NÃO É UM VERDADEIRO GUERREIRO….E O TRATAMENTO E A INTIMIDADE QUE EU TENHO COM O MEU MESTRE ..QUEM TA DE FORA NÃO CONHECE NADA PARA CRÍTICAR ..AQUI NÃO É MESTRE E ALUNA.. É PAI E FILHA ..E NÃO SERA NINGUEM QUE IRA DIZER COMO ELE DEVE ME TRATAR.. E SOBRE JOGAR A TOALHA… AQUI É PRVT, E QUEM CONHECE OS MEUS LIMITES SOMOS NÓS …JOGAR A TOALHA JAMAIS OBRIGADO A TODOS PELAS MENSAGENS DE CARINHO E APOIO QUE VENHO RECEBENDO, TENHO CERTEZA QUE GANHEI UMA FAMÍLIA PARA O RESTO DA VIDA ,E QUEM TA CRITICANDO , NÃO TO NEM AI , VOU VOLTAR MAIS FORTE..."""""""NÃO SERÁ UM MOMENTO QUE IRA APAGAR UMA HISTÓRIA'""""" . . . #ufcbelem #ettosuplementos #canalcombate #prvtnoufc #prvt #prvtgirls #sportv #ufc #ensaio #photography #belem #brasil #riodejaneiro #mma #wmma #pedritanoufc #zombiegirl

A post shared by Priscila Cachoeira (@pedritaprvtufc) on Feb 4, 2018 at 4:17pm PST

Her toughness is certainly to be admired, and she’ll get another shot in the still-developing UFC women’s flyweight division after White gave her his respect while flaming Yamasaki.

However, it seemed a perfect storm of factors working against her in her UFC debut Saturday, as the ref, match-making, and corner discussion were all magnified by the fact that she also tore her ACL and meniscus early in the fight, requiring surgery and a lengthy recovery before she can return.

Shevchenko will most likely move on to a title shot versus the also-injured flyweight champ Nicco Montano, but the question will also remain if she should have been fed such an inexperienced fighter who had never competed in the UFC prior to facing arguably the most dominant woman in a new weight class.

What was your take on the scenario?

The post UFC Flyweight Defends Coach For Brutal Belem Beatdown appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former women’s bantamweight title challenger Valentina Shevchenko made a brutally successful flyweight debut by dismantling UFC newcomer Priscila Cachoeira (watch full highlights here) in the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., February 3, 2018) UFC Fight Night 125 from Arena Guilherme Paraense in Belém, Brazil.

The win gave ‘Bullet’ the emphatic statement victory she needed to solidify a 125-pound title shot, a division in which she’s become talked about as essentially the uncrowned champion. She was crisp, precise, and bulldozing with her striking early, and showed a ground game to match when she took Cachoeira down at will and battered her with an endless outpouring of hugely  damaging punches and elbows before mercifully ending the bout with a second-round choke.

Cachoeira’s toughness was to be admired, yet after the fight, longtime referee Mario Yamasaki was highly criticized by many who believed that she had absorbed far too many unanswered strikes while not defending herself, and appeared to tap out at least once before having to do it again to get Yamasakito stop the bout.

Perhaps the most prominent name to do so was UFC president Dana White, who absolutely called Yamasaki out on Instagram after UFC Belem, noting that he has come under intense scrutiny for this exact sort of thing several times before and failed to stop a fight where one of his fighters was outlanded by a gross 230-3 margin:

Priscilla Cachoeira, you showed so much heart and toughness in that fight. I’m honored to have you fight in the UFC. Unfortunately the ref is there to protect you and Mario DID NOT do that. This isn’t his first disgusting performance in the octagon. Another unfortunate thing is that i can’t do anything about I️t only the Brazilian commission can and i am hoping after this scary, incompetent showing he hopefully will never set foot in that Octagon again. Strikes landed was 230-3.

A post shared by Dana White (@danawhite) on Feb 3, 2018 at 9:59pm PST

White put all of his cards on the table regarding Yamasaki, and while he may be rough around the edges concerning many topics of discussion, it’s hard to argue with the UFC’s front man here.

Fighters’ safety is legitimately being put in danger when Yamasaki is refereeing their bouts, as Cachoeira was simply being battered without end even if her fighting spirit would not let her give up. She was in the crucifix eating punches while unable to move or defend herself, and it’s just one of the simplest tenets of mixed martial arts that if a fighter is in that spot, the referee should stop the bout.

Yamasaki did not yet again, however, and it’s no surprise to see White and many others call him out for it.

Let’s hope athletic commissions take heed and decide to stop putting fighters’ health and careers in peril just to have Yamasaki errantly officiate another event on their watch.

The post Dana White Destroys ‘Incompetent’ Mario Yamasaki After UFC Belem appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.