Mario Yamasaki reflects on ref career after Shevchenko vs. Cachoeira
“I ended up focusing on other jobs and didn’t apply to any athletic commission after that fight because Dana would keep coming after me.”
Refereeing is the most thankless task in mixed martial arts. Half the fighters lose every fight, and no fighter ever thought he or she won because of the ref, but very many losers do. And the task is impossible – there is no way to perfectly balance safety vs. livelihood in a dangerous sport.
Mario Yamasaki came under intense criticism for his officiating of Valentina Shevchenko vs. newcomer Priscila Cachoeira in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 125 on February 3, 2018, in Belem, Brazil.
“I am hoping after this scary, incompetent showing he hopefully will never set foot in that Octagon again,” wrote White afterward. The UFC boss was also upset over Yamasaki’s decision to step technically sub Michael Chiesa vs. Kevin Lee at UFC Fight Night 112 in 2017. White and UFC matchmakers also received criticism for making the fight in the first place.
Yamasaki initially responded defiantly to the criticism, arguing, The way I see it, I allowed ‘Pedrita’ to be a warrior and keep fighting.” Referee and retired fighter Frank Trigg also defended Yamasaki’s officiating.
After the fight, UFC Senior Vice President David Shaw said the league would work with Brazil’s regulatory body, CABMMA, to make sure a similar situation does not happen again. CABMMA said the fight should have been stopped earlier.
“We will discuss the next steps together and decide what is certainly best for all parts involved in the process,” wrote Cristiano Sampaio, CABMA’s highly-respected executive director.
Yamasaki, the most internationally experience Brazilian referee, took an entire year off from the UFC, but intends to return this year to the best seat in the house. He has successful day jobs, running a construction company in the USA, and 13 Jiu-Jitsu academies.
I ended up focusing on other jobs and didn’t apply to any athletic commission after that fight because Dana would keep coming after me, said Yamasaki to Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting. I decided to take a year off to relax and reset. I think I’ll apply to an athletic commission again this year and come back after relaxing for a year.
Now Yamasaki has reached out to UFC VP for regulatory affairs Marc Ratner about what he might need to do to work in the Octagon again. And he rethought through his officiating
I think I really could have stopped it earlier, he said. It was a mistake.
Yamasaki also walked back the remarks about allowing Cachoeira to fight like a warrior.
I was misinterpreted because, first, I had a public relations that asked me to say that, but it’s not what I really meant, explained Yamasaki. I told ‘Pedrita’ in the locker room that I wouldn’t stop the fight if she was defending herself. She moved every time I said I was going to stop the fight, but I really should have stopped it earlier so it wouldn’t have [been] controversial. It was no one else’s fault but me.
“Dana has been good to me, despite other controversies. It’s 20 years… I started in the UFC before he did, and we always got along. .. The fights that were controversial, I wasn’t as focused as I usually am. It’s lessons you learn in life. But I can’t complain. I think Chiesa is an excellent fighter. That happened, I think he [went out], he says he didn’t, but I don’t think that will stay in everyone’s memories… but people always tend to remember the bad moments. If that’s the case, what can I do? It’s like saying Jose Aldo, Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort — will people remember him for the kick to the face or his entire career? It depends on who you ask.