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Erick Silva: Why MMA Needs to Institute Instant Replay Now

MMA needs to institute instant replay, not in the near future but now, because the debacle surrounding fights ended via the say so of the referee regarding illegal blows, elbows and so on to an opponent will never be par for the course, and if anything…

Most recently, at UFC 142 Brazil, we were privy to how badly instant replay should be a prerequisite at all major MMA events—Erick “ĺndio” Silva was on the brink of certain victory, only for Mario Yamasaki, who was officiating the matchup, to end proceedings via disqualification, thus handing the win to Carlo Prater.

Silva’s transgression was the fact that he’d allegedly rained several blows to the back of Prater’s head, though on closer observation and with the benefit of replay later on, it was found out that only one of the Brazilian’s punches had connected to the head of his opponent.

That, however, was no consolation for Silva, who was not only fighting in front of his countrymen, but up until then had been on a nine-fight unbeaten streak.

No one, not the fighters nor the fans, want to see a bout ended in controversy let alone via disqualification.

People pay good money to watch these fights, either through ticket or pay-per-view buys and the fighters on the receiving end of such dubious decisions end up with a loss that shouldn’t be and one which could easily have a detrimental effect on their psyche as well as future earnings.

The solution to the problem is simple—if an infraction takes place during a match, the instant replay will show whether or not the assumed perpetrator was in fact culpable of the infringement.

And if, however, he’s deemed guilty of said crime, then a point or two deducted would suffice and the bout could continue as normal, with the fighter in question aware of what might befall him if there is a repeat of his actions.

What this does, it not only gives the referee ample time to assess the situation and then make his call, but it also benefits MMA in the long run—more importantly the fans and the fighters.

For such scenarios to be a thing of the past, instant replay is the way and only way forward.

For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.

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Dana White Is Already Open to a Possible Anthony Johnson Return

(Jesus Christ Rumble, pull yourself together, will you?)

If you recall, about a fortnight ago, super middleweight contender Anthony Johnson showed up to the UFC 142 weigh-ins at a Weigh-In Failure Leaderboard Record of 12 pounds heavy for his clash with former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. Dana White all but fired Johnson on the spot, labeling him “unprofessional,” to which Johnson responded by laughing at all us ignant haters. After a strong start in his fight with “The Phenom,” Johnson quickly gassed and succumbed to a first round rear-naked choke, and was given his walking papers promptly afterward.

Well, it seems that, despite missing weight for 25% of his UFC bouts, “Rumble” still has an outside chance of getting back into the sport’s highest promotion. When questioned about the issue following the UFC on Fox 2 press conference, White stated:

[Johnson] needs to go fight somewhere else, get some wins and come in on weight. He needs to prove to me that he can be a professional, show up on weight and do the things that he needs to do. [If] he gets a few fights under his belt and does that, we’ll talk.

(Jesus Christ Rumble, pull yourself together, will you?)

[Johnson] needs to go fight somewhere else, get some wins and come in on weight. He needs to prove to me that he can be a professional, show up on weight and do the things that he needs to do. [If] he gets a few fights under his belt and does that, we’ll talk.

As we all know, DW has pulled this kind of maneuver before, and perhaps it is too early to discuss Johnson’s possible return, but it is still intriguing to see Dana switch gears on the issue just a couple of weeks after Johnson nearly cost him a co-main event, in Brazil nonetheless.

Love him or hate him, Johnson is a damn entertaining fighter, and if he can begin to take his weight cutting a LOT more seriously, it would be nice to see some more of his “handiwork” (see what I did there?) in the near to distant future. Then again, we hear Man v. Food is seeking a new host for a spin off, so he always has that to fall back on. What do you think of this, Potato Nation? Does Johnson deserve another shot, granted he can get his weight under control? Before you write him off altogether, consider the following:

Johnson/Yoshida

Johnson/Burns

Johnson/Reiner

Johnson/Speer

-Danga

UFC: The UFC Should Monitor the Weights of Its Fighters

While it’s mostly blown over now after he gassed out and got choked senseless for his troubles in Brazil a few weeks back, Anthony Johnson shone a light on a notable issue in MMA these days: cutting weight. Johnson has since been released, and wi…

Johnson has since been released, and with complete justification, as his loss at UFC 142 to Vitor Belfort marked the third time he’s been unable to make a contracted tipping of the scales. It even took place after he moved up a weight class to avoid such a folly.

However the issue at play here goes beyond Johnson, despite the fact that he’s the man most point to as an example of how extreme cuts can effect one’s well-being in and out of the cage. As the UFC grows and becomes more attention-worthy in mainstream sports, the promotion has to continue to develop wellness policies and support programs for its fighters.

They currently do a phenomenal job of caring for fighters, offering full-time health insurance, substance abuse support, countless performance bonuses and even some off-the-books bonuses.

One thing they don’t do, however, is monitor where an athlete is in terms of his weight between fights, during camp and leading into the weigh-in, and it may be something they want to look into going forward. This may seem like overkill to many, but there are a host of reasons the promotion should consider such an idea.

The first that comes to mind is the most obvious, that being health of the fighters.

No matter what anyone says, dropping 50 or 60 pounds over an eight week training camp is lunacy when you do it three times a year. The body isn’t designed to sustain that sort of punishment, and while it may be nice to have a size advantage over your opponent, it’s probably nicer to have functioning kidneys past your 30th birthday.

The second is the impact on matchmaking and the shuffling of cards. In the case of Johnson, he was fighting in the co-main event against one of Brazil’s greatest legends. He missed weight so badly that their “middleweight” fight ended up taking place at 205 instead. The thing is, fighters who have been contracted to make weight need to make weight.

Could you imagine the backlash if Johnson-Belfort was cancelled? Or if Belfort had been given some bum just going in there to be knocked out and grab a quick paycheck? Fans in the arena and around the world would have been furious that they paid for one fight and got another, or outright didn’t get one at all.

The third thing that comes to mind is the potential PR nightmare when something goes wrong with a drastic weight cut. And make no mistake, something will go wrong with one sooner or later. Johnson himself lost feeling in his legs and was forced to rehydrate in Brazil, and there are cases of collegiate wrestlers dying from cutting weight in the past. As mentioned, the body isn’t meant to go through drastic weight fluctuations and certainly isn’t designed to drain itself of all fluid for a period of time after rapidly shedding pounds daily for two months or more.

How would Dana White and his front office handle a fighter dying on his way to the scale? How would the mainstream media portray it? What would fans think? Many people already think that MMA is basically legalized homicide, what would they say if they knew fighters were literally killing themselves just to make it into the cage at a certain weight?

Make no mistake, I’m no bleeding heart hippie in sports or anything else. I understand that cutting weight is part of the game, as is living life between fights like a normal human being – which often means pizza, beer and a bit of a spare tire for some guys.

But there also needs to be some room to keep fighters in check in terms of weight, because if no one does there are serious risks to health and business that the UFC simply can’t afford.

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Carlo Prater: "Mario Is a Million Times More Competent Than Joe Rogan"

When Erick Silva stopped his opponent, Carlo Prater, in just 29 seconds at UFC 142, many thought he was going to be awarded the knockout victory. Instead, referee Mario Yamasaki disqualified the 27-year-old for landing a punch to the back of the h…

“I felt very strong blows in the region of my neck and my right shoulder,” Prater told SportTV.com. “I felt very painful shocks. I was trying to overthrow Erick on the floor, out of instinct, but I could not because it was the worst physical pain I’ve ever had in my entire life.

“I think in the end I was made out as a villain,” he continued. “I had to stay in the hospital until Monday. They asked me not to go public because, indeed, that wouldn’t do any good for me or Erick. In my opinion, Mario did the right thing. You are not allowed to do anything you want inside the cage. Watching the fight video, I could see at least nine blows to the back of the head.”

UFC commentator Joe Rogan was criticized by some for taking the side of Silva and asking Yamasaki if he thought he had made the right decision. After the event, Rogan posted on the underground forums to explain why he thought it was necessary to ask the referee about the decision. He also posted a .gif of the fight’s final moments on his Twitter.

“I think the way Joe Rogan behaved was completely unethical,” Prater said. “He went with the crowd. A real professional doesn’t do that. He was acting like a fan when he should be acting as a commentator.

“Mario is a million time more competent than him. Hes been living off this for 20 years. Joe Rogan is just a swagger, someone who walks amongst fighters but isn’t really a fighter himself. He doesn’t understand. Whatever, human beings make mistakes and I am not going to be holding grudges against him.”

UFC president Dana White awarded Silva his win bonus despite the a loss, which was the first of Silva’s UFC career. His overall record is 13-2 with seven submission victories and a first-round knockout victory over Luis Ramos from UFC 134. Prater’s record stands at 29-10-1. He also recently entered his 10th year as a professional.

In an attempt to turn the fight into a “No Contest,” Silva’s camp called for a review of the fight. UFC’s vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner decided not to overturn the decision, leaving the fight a disqualification victory for Prater.

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UFC 142: Decision of Silva Vs.Prater Still Stands as a Disqualification

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 i…

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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Erick Silva DQ Loss to Carlo Prater Not Overturned: Why It’s the Right Call

UFC 142 was a great event, all things considered. Only one major point of controversy surrounded the event: the disqualification of Erick Silva for illegal blows to the back of the head of his opponent, Carlo Prater. Replays added a little clarity to the situation, although I still considered the issue up for debate. Given how quickly and thoroughly Silva handled Prater, and given what the instant replay seemed to show, many feel that the referee’s decision should be overturned. For better or worse we’ve now got some closure on this situation, as it’s been confirmed that the original decision will stand as is. Here are all the details as well as my reaction.

Courtesy of Sherdog, here are some quotes from UFC’s Marc Ratner that explain the situation: “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. Therefore the decision stands.”

Normally, the decision would be reviewed under whichever athletic commission the UFC was answering to at the time of their event. As an international event with no athletic commission, figuring out how to handle the Silva/Prater situation fell to Ratner, the UFC’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and a former member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

I know I’m in the smallest of minorities here, but I actually agree with this decision. Originally I had said that my fandom of Carlo Prater may be playing a role in my judgment of the fight, but enough time has passed from the original airing of UFC 142 that I’ve gotten the chance to replay the fight (all twenty-nine seconds of it) several times.

While I don’t think me being a fan of Carlo Prater has a role in my decision anymore, I do think my original decision stands: if the punch that knocked you out is illegal, your opponent deserves to get disqualified.

I admit that we can all see things differently, and that people definitely see this fight differently than I do. But what I saw with my very own eyes was this: Erick Silva dropping Carlo Prater was legal, the shots where Erick Silva swarmed on Carlo Prater were legal, but the shot that really dropped him, the one where it looked to knock him out cold…that shot looked like the back of the head to me.

It’s the same situation Jon Jones found himself in against Matt Hamill. The damage was already done, the opponent was already gone, but the final blow was against the rules.

I agreed with the decision in that fight, and I agree with the decision in this fight.

I’m not unsympathetic to Erick Silva, though. I think Silva is an incredibly hot prospect with a very bright future. But he made a mistake, and his punishment fit the crime. In my eyes, it really is as simple as that.

Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews, and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.

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