Mario Yamasaki, a veteran referee, came under criticism for his decision to let this past Saturday’s co-main event at UFC Fight Night 125 between Valentina Shevchenko and Priscilla Cachoeira longer than he should have.
Despite the fact Priscila was making her UFC debut with just 8 pro fights behind her, mainly her opponent Valentina Shevchenko was the vastly more experienced, who is widely considered as one of the best female fighters on earth.
The fight continued for two rounds while Shevchenko landed on her opponent Priscila by insane 230-3 margin en route to a second-round submission win.
Many criticize referee Mario Yamasaki for his worse showing including UFC president Dana White.
Joe Rogan, a UFC commentator is among one, has offered his two cents on the controversy surrounding referee Mario Yamasaki. He added Yamasaki had numerous chances to wave off the contest, but he failed to do it.
“Mario Yamasaki said [in his statement] he gave her the opportunity to, ‘Be a warrior,’” Rogan said on the latest episode of his podcast. “That’s what he said. That was his take on it. I mean, not just beat up. Did you see the stats? The actual physical striking stats? It was some unbelievably overwhelming number, like one vs. several hundred, in the significant strike department. Like literally, she landed one decent punch.”
“They should have stopped that fight a long time ago. That fight should have been stopped 15 or 20 times.”
Joe Rogan also criticized the UFC matchmaking team for putting up such a matchup, where Priscila was debuting against a most experienced fighter on the planet. Moreover, Priscila Cachoeira’s corner and coach has received criticism for not protecting its fighter by throwing in the towel.
“It was a bad matchup, because that girl, I believe it was her UFC debut,” Rogan said “To have a UFC debut, to have a woman that’s fought for the title and is a world-class striker, I mean literally one of the very-best strikers on the planet earth – male or female – it’s just not fair.”
“Valentina is one of the most well-rounded women in the sport,” he added later. “She subbed Julianna Pena off her back, she stands up and out-strikes Holly Holm. She went toe-to-toe with Amanda Nunes, she went toe-to-toe with some of the best kickboxers in the world. She’s a world champion muay Thai fighter. She’s just a (expletive) beast. She’s an all-around just bad-ass fighter.”
What do you think of Joe Rogan’s criticism on Valentina Shevchenko vs. Priscila Cachoeira fight?
