Ref Mario Yamasaki aids and abets a robbery; Joe Rogan makes it worse
Referee Mario Yamasaki made one of the biggest officiating errors in UFC history at UFC 142 on Saturday. Erick Silva blasted fellow Brazilian welterweight Carlo Prater with a knee and followed up with punches on the ground before Yamasaki stepped in to halt the bout after just 29 seconds of the first round. A spectacular, dominant finish, right? Silva’s 10th straight victory, right?
That’s what everyone thought until Yamasaki ruled that some of the blows had been to the back of the head and Silva was disqualified. That’s when things got even weirder. Commentator Joe Rogan corralled Yamasaki and forced him to watch the replay and explain his decision, something which I don’t recall ever happening in any sport ever. Obviously, Yamasaki said the only things he could say, that he had to make his call in the heat of the moment and that he saw illegal blows to the back of the head, although from the look on his face you could tell he knew he’d screwed up. The whole exchange was about as comfortable as an erection in tight jeans.
Now, I’m the first person to complain about illegal blows to the back of the head. Dan Henderson’s skull crushers against Fedor Emelianenko, for example. But watching the replay, as Rogan made Yamasaki do, I counted only one punch to the back of the head, and it wasn’t even among the first half-dozen punches thrown and it had no impact on Prater’s ability to defend himself. It was only after Yamasaki had already moved to stop the fight that this one insignificant illegal blow was thrown. The rest of the strikes clearly hit the side of Prater’s head or his hands and arms. If the illegal blow had come during a stand-up exchange, or if Prater hadn’t already been dazed and defenseless and had instead been able to keep fighting, the most that would’ve happened is Yamasaki gives Silva a warning to watch the back of the head. Instead, because Prater has already curled up and died, Silva gets disqualified.
Something needs to be done about this decision. It needs to be appealed and reversed. And something needs to be done about Yamasaki, who clearly made a mistake that cost one fighter and big win while saving another from a huge loss. But having the commentator, a supposedly objective observer, intervene to confront the referee in the cage is wrong on so many levels. This isn’t baseball, where a manager can kick dirt at the umpire when he doesn’t like the call. It’s not Rogan’s job to cross-examine the referee when there’s a questionable decision, as much as we might all enjoy seeing him do that. It’s inappropriate and unprofessional and makes the entire sport look like amateur hour.
10 comments
I am a qualified medics, clearly 4 blows to what we would call in our business as ” the back of the head”. If you have the ability to slow mo your tv you will see it.
Are u kidding me? Joe Rogan should be applauded it would of been bush league to just ignore it.. About time these attention seeking refs got held accountable for hair brain calls that derail guys like Erik Silva to prove there power
rogan needs to be fired as he is an idiot. an entertaining idiot but an idiot nevertheless. what he did was beyond absurd and very unprofessional. it reminded me in a way of the Pete Rose interview at the all star game in which the guy from Fox harassed him about betting. now does anybody else think that Rogan is literally high during broadcasts? Sometimes his eyes are clearly red and glossy and he just sounds like he just came out of a meeting with Tommy Chong and Gary Busey. i have no problem with people blazing in their own time but delivering my mma analysis and commentary is another thing.
Completely agree. It was beyond bizarre. But I can’t imagine him wrangling a referee unless somebody (i.e. Dana) put him up to it. It would, after all, be a good way for Dana to make a point about all of the bad officiating.
I agree that refs should be held accountable, but Rogan is not the guy to do it and it shouldn’t happen seconds after the fight. Bad calls happen in all sports, does that mean commentators should be interviewing umpires on the diamond after a blown call at home plate, or at centre ice when a ref misses a penalty? There’s a time and a place, but Rogan in the cage is not it. I know it kind of felt good to see him stick it to Yamasaki, and obviously we feel like we wish we could do that, but no way should that have happened. It was unprofessional, embarrassing and wrong.
What medics call the back of the head and what qualifies as the back of the head in combat sports aren’t exactly the same thing.
Rogan isn’t an idiot. He’s a very intelligent and analytical thinker with a lifelong passion and appreciation for martial arts and mma. I watched it again (I do have slow-down functionality
and yes, I agree that in the moment there could have been some blows to the back of the head, maybe too many. But to DQ – I disagree. I don’t get why its embarrasing to ask the ref about his decision. You’d prefer he just be a robot broadcaster and ignore the obvious controversy? If larry merchant can call out controversy in post fight interviews anyone should be able to. Do you guys just not like Joe? Whining like some bitches.
Joe was wrong for putting Yamasaki on the spot like that. I don’t care what Larry Merchant does. Just because somebody else acts unprofessionally doesn’t mean Joe should. He’s a commentator and employee of the UFC. Doesn’t matter that Joe has MMA knowledge and experience or that he has a lifelong passion for martial arts. That has nothing to do with this conversation. It’s not his place to call out referees, certainly not seconds after the call. Especially because Yamasaki may have actually gotten the call right (as you point out, there may have been some blows to the back of the head).
Barrett…how many definitions are there to “back of the head”…..do MMA rules say it is a small spot the size of a dime that would be difficult to target?? Wake up!! And you counted only one punch there?…..was that using the eyes in the back of your head?
Yeah, actually, the definition of “back of the head” according to the MMA Unified Rules is that it a 2-inch wide vertical strip from the crown to the neck (widening out at the neck). So, yeah. You want more details check out Big John McCarthy’s explanation in a video post from earlier this week on the blog.
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