Joe Rogan has offered his two cents on the controversy surrounding referee Mario Yamasaki.
This past Saturday night (Feb. 3), UFC Belem took place. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko took on Priscila Cachoeira. This was Cachoeira’s UFC debut.
Better Late Than Never?
Shevchenko had a field day with her opponent and was in control throughout the fight. Cachoeira received a beating off her back, but referee Mario Yamasaki let the fight continue. Cachoeira was trapped in a crucifix position and ate several clean shots that many believe should’ve warranted a stoppage.
The finish came when Shevchenko forced the tap via rear-naked choke in the second round. Even then, Yamasaki was late to recognize the tap and stop the fight. During a recent edition of his podcast, Rogan gave his take on the stoppage (via MMAJunkie.com):
“Mario Yamasaki said he gave her the opportunity to, ‘Be a warrior.’ 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.”
Yamasaki issued a statement addressing the incident and acknowledged there were multiple times during the fight that he could/should have ended it.
