Being a referee in the UFC is no joke. Having the responsibility of enforcing the rules while still keeping fighters safe is a huge part of the job. A lot depends on their sense of timing to stop a fight, which, if goes wrong, can have disastrous consequences. One such took place back in 2018, involving Mario Yamasaki that even led Dana White to blast his refereeing skills and proclaim that “…he hopefully will never set foot in that Octagon again.”

For long-time fans of the UFC, names like ‘Big’ John McCarthy, Steve Mazzagatti, and Mario Yamasaki were the officials that embodied the early days of the UFC. Yamasaki, a Brazilian native, is a prominent fixture in the world of MMA as he has officiated over 400 fights in organizations like the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, EliteXC, and Pride Fighting Championships.

However, a number of questionable decisions and egregiously late stoppages led to him exiting the UFC in 2018. In a recent post shared on Reddit, the fans were left stunned after it was revealed that Yamasaki had donned the referee uniform once again at the PFL  9 event held in Washington DC. Yamasaki last officiated a UFC bout in 2018 when Priscila Cachoeira was put through the meat-grinder by Valentina Shevchenko.

Yamasaki stopped the fight at 4 minutes, 25 seconds of round 2 after Cachoeira tapped out to a rear-naked choke. However, according to the onlookers, it should have been stopped well before that as Shevchenko went on Brutally hurting Cachoeira. Can you imagine how brutal?

Kyrgyzstani fighter, Shevchenko landed 230 total strikes compared to Cachoeira’s three! That did not do unnoticed to Dana White. “Priscila Cachoeira, you showed so much heart and toughness in that fight. I’m honored to have you fight in the UFC. Unfortunately, the ref is there to protect you and Mario DID NOT do that,” White wrote in an Instagram post later. Alongside, he did not spare the veteran referee as well.

A furious Dana White proclaimed, “This isn’t his first disgusting performance in the Octagon. Another unfortunate thing is that I can’t do anything about it, only the Brazilian commission can.” however, in a 2023 interview with Talkin’ MMA, Yamasaki claimed that White had been unduly harsh with him back then.

“I think Dana was a little too harsh on me, because I’m not that bad. 20 years there, and he always came to me, we’d talk a lot, and for him to just be a media guy, and just destroy a guy, ‘Oh he’s not going to step [foot] in here any more.’ I wasn’t that bad,” Yamasaki had said. He claimed that his good jobs are not showcased enough while only the ones where he messed up are blown out of proportion.

However, Yamasaki has a well-earned reputation for non-stoppages over a decade. And before he was ousted from the UFC, such incidents were being reported multiple times a year. Despite the bitter ending of his relationship with the UFC, Yamasaki expressed gratitude for it, saying that it has given him fame (albeit negatively, mostly), money, and, the chance to explore places. How even 5 years after the incident he did not look to have shifted an inch from his stance to defend himself.

 “Everybody’s going to make a mistake. Herb made a mistake, [Big] John made a mistake, I made a mistake. It’s life. But, what happens in life, especially now with the media and the internet going very fast, you get your haters,” he had said. The unexpected return of such a character to the PFL has understandably drawn a flurry of reactions from the online community. Here’s a look at what the fans had to say!

Mario Yamasaki’s ‘deadly’ appearance excites fans  

The fans brought up Mario Yamasaki’s comments after the horrifying ending to the Priscila Cachoeira vs Valentina Shevchenko bout to highlight his ‘refereeing style’. Cachoeira was out-landed 230-3 by ‘Bullet’ before she mercifully locked in a rear-naked choke and ended the brutal beat down.

In a statement made to MMA Fighting, Yamasaki defended his actions by claiming, “MMA is a contact sport and no fighter likes his fight to be stopped with no chance to revert the result. In my opinion, I allowed Pedrita (Cachoeira) to be a warrior and keep fighting”  Recalling that, one fan commented, “A lot of folks are gonna get opportunities to be warriors.”

The fans also wanted to get a chance to see the fights from Yamasaki’s POV as they claimed he didn’t even pay attention to the fighters. At UFC Fight Night 112 in 2017, the issues came to a head when Yamasaki declared Kevin Lee the winner in his fight against Michael Chiesa when he locked in a rear naked choke.

But Chiesa hadn’t tapped or lost consciousness and in a formal complaint filed against the decision, Chiesa stated, “In my fight with Kevin Lee, Mr. Yamasaki made multiple failures, oversights, and errors in officiating that ultimately led to this unfortunate circumstance.” Referring to that, one fan chimed in, “I wanna see the whole fight from Mario’s glasses camera. Just to see what random sh*t he’s looking at the whole time, because it’s almost never the fighters”

Meanwhile, others wanted Yamasaki to have a fighter-esque walkout to announce his return. “This guy deserves his own walkout just to shock fans and fighters,” the fan wrote. Some also think that despite names like Jon Jones, Francis Ngannou, and Islam Makhachev all being terrifying inside the cage, none of them come close to the lethality of Mario Yamasaki. “Bro is the deadliest man in mma without ever touching someone. Get this man out of reffing!” called out the fan. UFC boss Dana White had some more choice words for Yamasaki in an Instagram post after the UFC Fight Night 112.

“Nobody gives a sh*t that u can make a heart with ur hands like a 12 year old girl they want u to pay attention to what’s going on in the fight and do ur job,” the UFC president had written. Some referenced Ivan Drago’s famous line from Rocky 4 when he’d proclaimed he was not responsible for his opponent’s fate. A sentiment that Yamasaki has seemingly taken as a guideline for his refereeing career according to the fans! “If he dies, he dies” lives on!” the fan equated.

In conclusion, Mario Yamasaki’s return to refereeing has certainly ignited a firestorm among MMA fans. The calls for Yamasaki to make a grand, fighter-like entrance highlight just how surreal his return feels for the MMA sphere. The overwhelming sentiment seems to be that Yamasaki’s presence in the cage is more terrifying than any fighter. Do you think Dana White was right to call for Mario Yamasaki’s ban from the UFC? Do you think his return to PFL will be different than his UFC tenure? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!