Mario Yamasaki believes his decision to stop UFC on FOX 24’s 185-pound main card bout was the right one. Last night (April 15), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweights Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Robert Whittaker did battle inside the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Whittaker stunned the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) when he finished […]
Mario Yamasaki believes his decision to stop UFC on FOX 24’s 185-pound main card bout was the right one. Last night (April 15), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweights Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Robert Whittaker did battle inside the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Whittaker stunned the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) when he finished […]
Mixed martial arts (MMA) referee Mario Yamasaki understands fans who say he stopped the UFC Fight Night 105 main event late. Headlining this past Sunday night’s (Feb. 19) card was a heavyweight battle between Derrick Lewis and Travis Browne. Lewis knocked out Browne in the second round. “The Black Beast” finished the fight with ground-and-pound […]
Mixed martial arts (MMA) referee Mario Yamasaki understands fans who say he stopped the UFC Fight Night 105 main event late. Headlining this past Sunday night’s (Feb. 19) card was a heavyweight battle between Derrick Lewis and Travis Browne. Lewis knocked out Browne in the second round. “The Black Beast” finished the fight with ground-and-pound […]
Following Sunday night’s UFC Fight Night 83 event, referee Mario Yamasaki found himself on the receiving end of yet another rant by UFC President Dana White after the way he handled — or failed to handle — his responsibilities as the third man in the…
Following Sunday night’s UFC Fight Night 83 event, referee Mario Yamasaki found himself on the receiving end of yet another rant by UFC President Dana White after the way he handled — or failed to handle — his responsibilities as the third man in the Octagon for the evening’s main event.
White, who has a storied history of publicly criticizing the veteran MMA referee, returned with a brand new rant after Yamasaki failed to stop the action in the main event in a timely fashion.
The headline bout of the UFN 83 event, which took place live on Sunday evening in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, saw Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone finish late-replacement opponent Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira with a first-round triangle choke.
The only problem? Yamasaki was once again overly late in stopping a fight where someone could have suffered unnecessary punishment. Considering the fact that most would consider that one of the primary duties for an MMA official, White was less than happy with Yamasaki.
The UFC President took toi his official Twitter page soon after the fight ended, as he posted the following unfiltered review of Mario Yamasaki’s performance in the “Cowboy vs. Cowboy” main event.
10 taps before Yamasaki stops it after @Cowboycerrone tells him!!! And he was looking right at it……WOW!!!!! ????????
The recently-released ‘Fight Night 38’ Danavlog, which contains behind the scenes footage from both UFC 169 and 170, has all the makings of a classic Danavlog: nasty cuts and bruises, fighters breaking down backstage, and Matt Serra ripping on Ray Longo for the black eye that Kevin “mixed martial farts” James gave him. Toss in some classic Ronda Rousey mean-mugging, and you’ve got yourself a D-vlog (as the kids are calling them) right up there with “The gang finds a guy asleep behind the wheel.”
But about six and a half minutes into the video (6:24 to be precise), there’s a moment that displays something more than the usual mix of heartbreak and hilarity found in Danavlogs and actually warrants further investigation.
Referees Mario Yamasaki and Yves Lavigne are giving Daniel Cormier and Demian Maia, respectively, a few last-minute reminders about the rules, likely in an effort to avoid a Sims vs. Mir-level mishap. While Yamasaki simply reiterates to Cormier that covering up does not count as intelligent defense (seems like he should’ve saved that speech for Pat Cummins, amiright? *self-fives*), Lavigne informs Maia that even if his upcoming opponent, Rory MacDonald, were to tap, Maia should continue applying the submission until Lavigne pulls him off.
“I have to see the tap,” says Lavigne, “If I don’t see it and you let it go, and if he says ‘I didn’t tap,’ we’re screwed.”
Now, this should be concerning for a multitude of reasons…
The recently-released ‘Fight Night 38′ Danavlog, which contains behind the scenes footage from both UFC 169 and 170, has all the makings of a classic Danavlog: nasty cuts and bruises, fighters breaking down backstage, and Matt Serra ripping on Ray Longo for the black eye that Kevin “mixed martial farts” James gave him. Toss in some classic Ronda Rousey mean-mugging, and you’ve got yourself a D-vlog (as the kids are calling them) right up there with “The gang finds a guy asleep behind the wheel.”
But about six and a half minutes into the video (6:24 to be precise), there’s a moment that displays something more than the usual mix of heartbreak and hilarity found in Danavlogs and actually warrants further investigation.
Referees Mario Yamasaki and Yves Lavigne are giving Daniel Cormier and Demian Maia, respectively, a few last-minute reminders about the rules, likely in an effort to avoid a Sims vs. Mir-level mishap. While Yamasaki simply reiterates to Cormier that covering up does not count as intelligent defense (seems like he should’ve saved that speech for Pat Cummins, amiright? *self-fives*), Lavigne informs Maia that even if his upcoming opponent, Rory MacDonald, were to tap, Maia should continue applying the submission until Lavigne pulls him off. “I have to see the tap,” says Lavigne,
“If I don’t see it and you let it go, and if he says ‘I didn’t tap,’ we’re screwed.”
Now, this should be concerning for a multitude of reasons…
#1: Holding onto a submission after an opponent taps is exactly what got Rousimar Palhares fired, if I remember correctly. (That he would sometimes hold onto subs after *the ref* had grabbed him could also be part of the reason he was let go.)
#2: “If I don’t see the tap, we’re screwed?” I’m sorry, but isn’t this the kind of problem that instant replay was/is supposed to solve?
We’ve previously argued that the addition of instant replay in MMA would create more questions than answers, questions relating to how/when it would used and how much it would affect the momentum or outlook of a fight. But a situation like the one Lavigne just presented is exactly one that could easily be solved by instant replay. Besides the fact that ignoring the tap all but contradicts the point of a tap in the first place, it seems rather risky to give such advice to Maia, a ground wizard who could easily end a career in such a span, of all people. If a situation arose where Maia claimed MacDonald had tapped and the “Ares” claimed otherwise (defying all previous conceptions of the Canadian Honor System in the process), it would only take a glimpse at one of the dozens of super slo-mo Phantom cams to determine who was telling the truth.
And if not an instant replay, then why not just a replay in general? (I refer to the Sakuraba-Silveria example noted in our previous article on the subject.) If Yves blew the call or thought he saw a tap that he didn’t, MacDonald shouldn’t have to file an appeal and maybe get the result overturned months down the road when the evidence is sitting right in front of all three of them mere moments after the incident occurred. Far too much emphasis is being placed on MMA referees, who range from highly experienced to unjustifiably incompetent even at the highest levels of the sport, and while an instant replay could slow things down from an excitement standpoint, there’s no need for our sport to continue acting like a referee’s call is the be all end all. Especially when…
#3 – Do all referees give the same pre-fight reminders as Lavigne?
There’s been a lot of discussion in recent years about the discrepancies amongst MMA referees when it comes to their understanding of things like what constitutes a “back of the head” strike, what constitutes “intelligent defense,” and what constitutes a tap (it just so happens that both Yamasaki and Lavigne have found themselves at the center of such controversies), so I ask: Do guys like Herb Dean and Big John McCarthy agree with Lavigne’s assessment? Or do all refs even give pre-fight reminders to the fighters?
In a sport that is plagued by inconsistency in the judging and reffing departments, this is perhaps the most important distinction to make. Because while a big part of MMA refereeing is knowing the limitations of the individual fighters you are presiding over, a bigger part of it establishing a set of guidelines that do not change from fight-to-fight.
I’m probably making a mountain out of a molehill again, but I just find it interesting that ignoring the tap has apparently become standard protocol amongst the sport’s best referees. What I’m trying to say is: BRING BACK PAUL HARRIS!! #Thrillofdafeet #RallyforPaulHarris #MikePierceisaDramaQueen
In a world of barbarous blitzkriegs and surreptitious submissions, seasoned referee Mario Yamasaki is the epitome of thinking on your feet. Having reffed over 400 fights in the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, EliteXC and Pride Fighting Championships, Yamasaki has been in the cage with the best fighters the world has to offer – and tried to keep them safe in the controlled carnage that is professional cage fighting. CagePotato caught up with Yamasaki earlier this week and we asked him about everything from controversial stoppages to being accosted by Joe Rogan. Here’s what one of MMA’s best referees had to say.
CagePotato: How long have you been an MMA referee?
Mario Yamasaki: I started around 1992 at local shows in Brazil.
CP: What first captivated you about MMA and is that what lead you to your current profession?
MY: I started doing Judo back in 1968, so the mat was my home. My father had 14 studios in São Paulo and when I was either 19 or 20 years old I thought that I was a great fighter because I use to train with the Brazilian National team in Judo and could kick a lot of people’s butt. When I met Marcelo Behring I got controlled on the ground like I never had before, so I was intrigued with that situation and instead of walking away I said, “Let me learn that so I can become even better than I am.”
From the beginning, I had an advantage against other students because of my background in Judo so I became one of the best students he had. So was my brother, so we started helping him in his private classes so we could learn more and faster. As far as the refereeing part, my father & uncle went to 5 Olympic games as referees and I learned from them.
(Not only does Yamasaki officiate MMA bouts, he also resurrects blunt force trauma victims. Photo Credit: Esther Lin)
In a world of barbarous blitzkriegs and surreptitious submissions, seasoned referee Mario Yamasaki is the epitome of thinking on your feet. Having reffed over 400 fights in the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, EliteXC and Pride Fighting Championships, Yamasaki has been in the cage with the best fighters the world has to offer – and tried to keep them safe in the controlled carnage that is professional cage fighting. CagePotato caught up with Yamasaki earlier this week and we asked him about everything from controversial stoppages to being accosted by Joe Rogan. Here’s what one of MMA’s best referees had to say.
CagePotato: How long have you been an MMA referee?
Mario Yamasaki: I started around 1992 at local shows in Brazil.
CP: What first captivated you about MMA and is that what lead you to your current profession?
MY: I started doing Judo back in 1968, so the mat was my home. My father had 14 studios in São Paulo and when I was either 19 or 20 years old I thought that I was a great fighter because I use to train with the Brazilian National team in Judo and could kick a lot of people’s butt. When I met Marcelo Behring I got controlled on the ground like I never had before, so I was intrigued with that situation and instead of walking away I said, “Let me learn that so I can become even better than I am.”
From the beginning, I had an advantage against other students because of my background in Judo so I became one of the best students he had. So was my brother, so we started helping him in his private classes so we could learn more and faster. As far as the refereeing part, my father & uncle went to 5 Olympic games as referees and I learned from them.
CP: What is the most important thing a referee should always remember about their job?
MY: That they are there to protect the fighter’s integrity. [Ed. Note: You hear that Winslow?]
CP: What is your philosophy towards MMA refereeing?
MY: To be correct, impartial and honest.
CP:At UFC Fight Night 26 you reffed the Travis Browne/Alistair Overeem fight – one that could have arguably been stopped sooner in favor of Overeem. What was your thought process letting the fight continue when Overeem was hovering over a turtled Browne?
MY: This fight was a good example about when and when not to stop a fight. When Overeem knocked the wind out of Travis I heard him grind, making some noise and I knew he was having some difficulties breathing. But I also knew that he was conscious and trying to stay in the fight. And Overeem’s punches were [landing] on his arms and shoulder – good knees too, but not well enough to make him drop. Then he stood up, recovered, and Overeem caught a kick to the face and went down semi-conscious. I gave him the chance to recuperate, but Travis came down with 2 punches to his head that he couldn’t defend intelligently and I had to stop it.
CP: How often are referees forced to chose a side in the battle between the Letter of the Law and the Spirit of the Law? How difficult is it to be consistent in your judgement?
MY: Well, as a referee, we can’t choose sides even if one is more friendly than the other. When we get up there it’s to prevent accidents, [keep things safe] and to make sure all fighters and camps follow the rules. The biggest difficulty is to be consistent. We don’t want to make mistakes, but we are human and every fight is a different fight.
CP: Should referees take into account each fighter’s history (wins, losses, fighting style, past concussions, etc.) when determining whether or not to stop the fight or let it play out?
MY: No, we can never go by that but I always recommend that the referees learn about who they are and their styles. But as I said before, every fight is a different fight, so we can never predict what is going to happen there.
CP: Do refs ever approach one another after an event and tell them when they think someone messed up?
MY: We do some meetings to exchange thoughts and to discuss some things, constructively! It’s always good.
CP: MMA is a lightening-fast sport that forces referees to make equally fast decisions. MMA refs are arguably the most scrutinized of all sports, in fact, you were put on the spot by UFC commentator Joe Rogan after the controversial fight between Erik Silva and Carlo Prater at UFC 142. That being said, what do you consider to be your biggest career regret?
MY: Hmmm… That makes the top of the list, but not for what I did in the fight, but what I did after. I should never wait there to try to explain myself. A decision is a decision, if you follow the rules. I acted correctly, but if you follow the facts and your heart, I could give a no-contest because later Erick came to me and said that he didn’t understand English and didn’t understand my warnings. So based on that, if we were to use our hearts… and Velasquez vs. Pezão (AKA Bigfoot Silva), I should’ve let Velasquez punch him more so [Bigfoot] would not have anyone to blame but himself.
(“Okay, we’re going to restart you guys in the position you were in when the foul occurred. Mirko, please put your index finger on Mostapha’s eyeball.”)
How is it that names like Rousimar Palhares, Gabriel Gonzaga, Jose Aldo, and even Vitor Belfort paled in comparison to Mario Yamasaki? Never mind that Gonzaga finally got a big win or that the Phenom had rebounded from his embarrassing loss to fellow Brazilian Anderson Silva. Yamasaki’s decision to overturn an apparent first round TKO had everyone up in arms.
Most notably incensed by the fight’s result was UFC President Dana White. Steve Mazzagatti could only listen in disbelief as Dana White actually defended a referee that made a mistake. Instead of blaming Yamasaki personally, Dana White rekindled the ever-smoldering topic of instant replay: “There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes. There’s nothing wrong. We’re [expletive] human. We’re going to do it. But you have to be able to go back and say, ‘We made a mistake. Here’s the proof. Let’s overturn it.’”
But would the addition of instant replay in MMA really be the answer to botched referee decisions? Or would it create even more unforeseen problems?
(“Okay, we’re going to restart you guys in the position you were in when the foul occurred. Mirko, please put your index finger on Mostapha’s eyeball.”)
How is it that names like Rousimar Palhares, Gabriel Gonzaga, Jose Aldo, and even Vitor Belfort paled in comparison to Mario Yamasaki? Never mind that Gonzaga finally got a big win or that the Phenom had rebounded from his embarrassing loss to fellow Brazilian Anderson Silva. Yamasaki’s decision to overturn an apparent first round TKO had everyone up in arms.
Most notably incensed by the fight’s result was UFC President Dana White. Steve Mazzagatti could only listen in disbelief as Dana White actually defended a referee that made a mistake. Instead of blaming Yamasaki personally, Dana White rekindled the ever-smoldering topic of instant replay: “There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes. There’s nothing wrong. We’re [expletive] human. We’re going to do it. But you have to be able to go back and say, ‘We made a mistake. Here’s the proof. Let’s overturn it.’”
But would the addition of instant replay in MMA really be the answer to botched referee decisions? Or would it create even more unforeseen problems?
Consider the situation where a fighter is on his back and receives a deep cut that could be interfering with his vision. The referee stands them up and takes the bleeder over to the fight doctor. After a short break, they are re-positioned and the fight continues. The break so brief because a large part of fighting is about stamina and recovery time. Each fighter is allowed one minute between each five-minute round to rest. The only other breaks in action you see during a fight are when a foul is committed (a shot to the groin, an illegal knee to the head, etc.) or a mouthpiece accidentally falls out of a fighters’ mouth. In those scenarios there is an evident sense of urgency from the referee to get the fight to continue. One of the referee’s many duties is to maintain the pace of the fight.
Imagine that the UFC used instant replay when Brock Lesnar fought Shane Carwin. If for some reason the referee wanted to check for an illegal strike, he would be out of the cage for a fair amount of time viewing each angle. All the while, the beast that is Shane Carwin is regaining oxygen. A fighter with a serious disadvantage is having the playing field leveled for him. By the time the ref finally returns, Carwin would be rejuvenated and someone in the first row would be taking home Lesnar’s massive head.
And if instant replay were allowed at UFC 142, what would Mario Yamasaki have done? Would he stop the fight while he checked the tape? If he returned and saw that Silva had indeed landed a blow or two to the back of Prater’s head, would he deduct a point or stop the fight? Prater could not continue, so stop the fight, right? Or does he just give the fight to Silva because in between smacking the direct center of Prater’s head he landed some convincing blows on Prater? But, if Yamasaki does restart the fight, after giving both fighters ample time to recover, does he put Prater right back into Silva’s clutches like he would for a doctor check?
And where are you while this is taking place? Have you lost interest? The length of break and commentary are similar to the time before and after Bruce Buffer announces the decision of the fight. Do you want to wait while Yamasaki puts on headphones and sticks his head into a small television screen?
As a fan, the right call is the major concern, but is it something you’re willing to wait for?
Let’s refer to one of the oldest cases in need of instant replay: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Marcus Silveira at UFC Japan in 1997. Sakuraba was being abused by a barrage of strikes by a man that outweighed him by 60 pounds. Sakuraba decided he did not enjoy having his skull reshaped and went for a single-leg takedown. “Big” John McCarthy, who is widely regarded as MMA’s most beloved referee, immediately stopped the fight stating that Sakuraba was knocked out. When the Gracie Hunter popped to his feet, McCarthy knew he made a mistake. There was no instant replay to fall back on.
Instead, like the situation with Erick Silva, Sakuraba had to wait during an appeal. In both cases, replay was looked at and the right call was determined. Essentially, a replay was used for the right call, but not an instant replay. For safety purposes, the fights were stopped and decisions were made afterwards. Luckily for Saku, the decision was overturned and he got his rematch the same night.)
Another question, as if there weren’t enough already, is who would be in charge of determining when instant replay should be used? As stated previously, Dana White is an advocate for instant replay. When discussing the topic, he frequently compares MMA’s lack of the determining tool to virtually every other major sport’s use of it. In American football, instant replay is generally determined, between plays, by one team’s head coach throwing a red flag onto the field to signify that he would like the previous play re-examined. In baseball, the umpires determine if instant replay is needed, between plays, if there is any argument over a home run’s validity. In both sports, the final call is still somewhat questionable and the process is always time consuming.
Would instant replay be determined by Dana White in MMA? Does he throw a red flag into the Octagon in between tweets? Should a fighter’s coach be in charge of throwing the flag? Joe Rogan apparently thought he was the deciding factor when he took it upon himself to publicly humiliate Mario Yamasaki seconds after his decision. The UFC could give him and Mike Goldberg a few flags and see what happens. However, going by how often they pre-emptively declare the ending to a fight, it wouldn’t be long before they tore a rotator cuff. Instead of anyone throwing flags, does the referee take it upon himself to judge when something needs to be reviewed? If so, prepare yourself for questionable delays while the referee checks if, in fact, that kick landed on the thigh or testicles.
Implementing instant replay in MMA opens up a gigantic can of worms. Imagine how many fighters wake up on a Bud Light logo to furiously debate whether or not he left consciousness. Does the referee look at the tape? If he does, is it safe to bring a fighter who may or may not have just been knocked out back into a fight?
Recall Cheick Kongo’s need to check Cro Cop’s bits and pieces. If instant replay were intact, how many times would this fight have been reviewed? Sitting through that many delays would make a Jacob Volkmann fight look interesting.
When it comes down to it, out of all the fights in the history of MMA, an almost negligible percentage has created a buzz for instant replay. The rest have been refereed absolutely correctly. Implementing instant replay in MMA would be like using a hatchet when a scalpel would do. There are other ways to adjust the issue at hand. The first, and probably easiest, would be for commissions to be absolutely sure that referees are consistent. If referees had penalized or even disqualified Vitor Belfort for the many times he has attacked the back of an opponent’s head in a heated adrenaline-filled rush to end the fight, then Yamasaki would not have looked so bad with his decision.
There are far too many questions with instant replay. Maybe some fights would be changed for the good, but at what cost? Without instant replay, there is only one question: Why doesn’t MMA have instant replay?
