Not for the first time, Dana White is upset with Mario Yamasaki.
Valentina Shevchenko looked phenomenal in her UFC flyweight debut in Belem, but it was Mario Yamasaki’s officiating of the bout that dominated the post-fight discussion.
Number one women’s bantamweight contender Shevchenko showed the world why she’s seen as the uncrowned queen of 125 lbs on Sunday morning. ‘Bullet’ completely outclassed promotional newcomer Priscila Cachoeira, ending the Brazilian’s unbeaten run in the lion’s den.
Shevchenko beat her up on the feet and beat her up on the ground before forcing the tap with a rear-naked choke at 4:25 of the second round.
TAP CITY! Valentina Shevchenko puts on an absolutely dominant performance and submits Priscila Cachoeira at #UFCBelem! https://t.co/pnRJ69rxMn
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 4, 2018
Although it lasted deep into the second, the fight was over as a contest by the end of the first. Cachoeira was clearly out of her depth against the combat sports veteran.
While striking stats can often be deceiving in MMA, they really told the story of this fight. According to FightMetric, Shevchenko outstruck her opponent by 217-1. That’s right, unofficially, Cachoeira landed just one strike in the entire fight.
At one point, Shevchenko had her opponent in a crucifix position on the ground. She relentlessly hammered ground-and-pound on the helpless fighter. Yamasaki kept having a look at the situation but refused to step in.
No wonder why Dana White was so pissed off at him after the fight. White has been one of the biggest critics of the ref for years. He took to Instagram to voice his disgust over Yamasaki’s performance.
Dana White is furious with Mario Yamasaki… again #UFCBelem pic.twitter.com/nlPxwg2VoR
— Ben Kiely (@TheJivemaster) February 4, 2018
He wasn’t alone in his outrage. Plenty of fighters, fans and personalities took to social media to give out about Yamasaki.
While some suggested her corner should have thrown in the towel, nobody was defending Yamasaki after the fight.
Ridiculous. Mario Yamasaki deserves every bit of outrage coming his way. #UFCBelem https://t.co/ldd1dnZ65n
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) February 4, 2018
Corners in @ufc should start throw the towel in mma just like in boxing when referes like Yamasaki it's in change of stoppages #UFCBelem
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) February 4, 2018
Yamasaki is the worst referee ever!
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) February 4, 2018
Ohhhhhh…The 1 strike is the reason Yamasaki didn’t stop the fight. https://t.co/Wl7HkAX3vs
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 4, 2018
Shame on you, yet again, Mario Yamasaki.
— Steven Marrocco (@MMAFightingSM) February 4, 2018
And yet I feel totally confident that regulators will fail to do anything, wait out the controversy, and continue to hire Mario.
— Steven Marrocco (@MMAFightingSM) February 4, 2018
https://twitter.com/jeremybotter/status/960023084987305984
https://twitter.com/VinnyMMA/status/960023064598556672
Mario Yamasaki flashes that heart sign at the start of the fight, then shows no heart the rest of the way.
— Jeff Wagenheim (@jeffwagenheim) February 4, 2018
Mario Yamasaki still didn't want to stop that fight when Cachoeira was tapping. Good lord.
— Adam Hill (@AdamHillLVRJ) February 4, 2018
Fight needed to be stopped earlier imo
— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) February 4, 2018
Mario Yamasaki let the fight go on way too long. Referees are supposed to be the most important figures in our sport.
They're the ones that are responsible for fighter safety. That was criminal.
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) February 4, 2018
Yamasaki utterly DISGRACEFUL here. She had to tap like 3 times. That's AFTER an eternity of being pummeled. Bush league. #UFCBelem
— Hardley Browne (@HardleyBrowne) February 4, 2018
