MMA Referee Mario Yamasaki And The Heat of the Moment
MMA Referee Mario Yamasaki Has Had His Moments of Doubt
Mario Yamasaki is a Mixed Martial Arts referee and you, like lots of people on the street and in supermarkets, will recognize him from his work for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He’s also the founder and instructor of the Yamasaki Academy.
The Yamasaki family has been teaching martial arts for two generations in Brazil, so his pedigree in the sport is impeccable.
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Yamasaki has been training Brazilian Jiu-jitsu since 1986 under Marcelo Behring who is a 5th degree black belt under Rickson Gracie, and was designated a 3rd degree on his black belt from Otavio de Almeida, president of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation of São Paulo, Brazil in 2002.
With the furor surrounding the controversial decision after the Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua fight still going full force, Yamasaki took time out to talk with us about his chosen profession.
Yamasaki has been there before, and he recalls the pressure of making the correct decision in the heat of the moment.
“In the Matt Hughes fight with Trigg at UFC 52, in that fight Hughes took a knee in the balls and I didn’t see it,” he said. “Then when I went to stop it, he got knocked down. If I would’ve stopped in then, he would have lost. So I let it go and, thank God, he recuperated and came back and won the fight, so it wasn’t that bad for me. I was afraid if he lost it was going to be a big thing in MMA. Lucky for me, it didn’t happen.”
View The Entire Interview Here
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I sat next to him on a flight to the Philippines where he was ref’n an event and he is a super cool guy. I was able to ask any question I wanted about UFC, fighters, everything MMA related for 12 hrs!! Probaly his longest interview ever lol. He never grew tired of talking to me and even invited me to a private event at the hotel where all the fighters were. Very genuine person. Thanks for the memory Mario and best wishes.
[...] “In the Matt Hughes fight with Trigg at UFC 52, in that fight Hughes took a knee in the balls and I didn’t see it,” he said. “Then when I went to stop it, he got knocked down. If I would’ve stopped in then, he would have lost. So I let it go and, thank God, he recuperated and came back and won the fight, so it wasn’t that bad for me. I was afraid if he lost it was going to be a big thing in MMA. Lucky for me, it didn’t happen.” View The Entire Interview Here [...]