Yamasaki: I’ll be taking John McCarthy’s C.O.M.M.A.N.D. course

Refereeing is the most thankless task in mixed martial arts. Half the fighters lose every fight, and no fighter ever thought he or she won because of the ref, but very many losers do. And the task is impossible – there is no way to perfectly balance safety vs. livelihood in a dangerous sport.

Mario Yamasaki came under intense criticism for his officiating of Valentina Shevchenko vs. newcomer Priscila Cachoeira in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night at 125 February 3, 2018, in Belem, Brazil.

“I am hoping after this scary, incompetent showing he hopefully will never set foot in that Octagon again,” Wrote White afterward.

Yamasaki responded to the criticism, arguing, “The way I see it, I allowed ‘Pedrita’ to be a warrior and keep fighting.” Referee and retired fighter Frank Trigg also defended Yamasaki’s officiating.

After the fight, UFC Senior Vice President David Shaw said the league would work with Brazil’s regulatory body, CABMMA, to make sure a similar  situation does not happen again. CABMMA said the fight should have been stopped earlier.

“We will discuss the next steps together and decide what is certainly best for all parts involved in the process,” wrote Cristiano Sampaio, CABMA’s highly-respected executive director.

Now Yamasaki is taking six months off, says he intends to take John McCarthy’s C.O.M.M.A.N.D. course, and acknowledges the fight went on too long.

“I should have stopped it a little earlier, but I didn’t,” said Yamasaki to Steven Marrocco for MMAjunkie.

“I think they’re going to know I’m still trying to be the best that I can be. I’m not cocky, just saying, ‘I’ve been there for 19 years; I can’t learn any more.’”

“John, for me, is my mentor. He’s been with me since I started. He always helped me, so I think that’s always going to help me. It can never hurt to learn more and see more and listen.”

Yamasaki runs an academy in Maryland but spends a lot of time in Brazil as well.

“I was more in Brazil, so I was not up to speed, I guess, on everything that’s happening here,” he said. “I need to involve myself more in the scene.”

“If you count for 19 years I’ve been reffing, how many were controversial? Four? Five? But people always see mistakes,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do. I just have to focus and try not to make any early calls or late calls. Reprogram. Do my job, you know?”

McCarthy said Yamasaki proposed an online tutorial, but ‘Big John’ explained “that’s not going to happen.” If Yamasaki does attend his course on July 6-8 during UFC’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas, “I’m not going to pass him because he’s Mario Yamasaki.”