Michael Bisping isn’t hating on referee Mario Yamasaki, but calls it how he sees it.
At UFC Fight Night 112, Michael Chiesa was submitted by Kevin Lee in Oklahoma City. Controversy ensued as Yamasaki stopped the fight despite the fact that Chiesa didn’t tap or pass out.
Bisping offered his opinion during a recent episode of his “Believe You Me” podcast (via MMAFighting.com):
“A guy with the experience of Yamasaki, when it’s a main event, I think he messed up. I think he messed up and he should have let the fight go a few seconds longer. And I’m only talking a few seconds. As fighters, we train for God knows how long for these fights and generally, the way payment is structured within the UFC is 50-50, 50 percent to show and 50 percent to win. That’s generally how it starts. So not only has he lost the fight, not only does he have another loss on his record, but he lost half his salary.”
“The Count” then went on to say that repercussions have to be in place when these situations happen.
“I’ll tell you what I think needs to happen. Listen, I like Mario Yamasaki. He’s been a good referee over the years but when you make a mistake like that I feel that people need to be held accountable. If we make mistakes in the cage as fighters, we are held accountable. If we break the rules, if we flaunt the rules and the authority, then we are often given a fine. . . And if you fail to make weight, 20 percent to 25 percent is taken in some cases. My point is, officials need to be held accountable as well. So Mario Yamasaki should have to sit down with the commission – I’m not trying to get him into any s**t, I’m not trying to cost him his job, he’s a very good referee – but he has to explain his position on why he did that.”
