Last weekend, in the co-main event of the UFC’s return to Belem, Brazil’s Priscila Cachoeira was brutalized by the far more experienced Valentina Shevchenko en route to a second-round submission loss. In the wake of this brutal fight, there has been widespread criticism of referee Mario Yamasaki. In the eyes of many fans and pundits, the referee should have stopped the fight much earlier. UFC President Dana White was particularly critical of Yamasaki post-fight.
Despite the fact that he claimed he can’t do anything about Yamasaki in his Instagram post, White seems hellbent on barring the referee from future UFC events.
“I think it’s disgusting,” White said on the latest episode of UFC Tonight. “I think he’s disgusting, and I never want to see him reffing ever again.”
When asked what he thought about the argument that Cachoeira could have tapped if she wanted, White absolutely went off.
“She didn’t tap, and that’s the thing. The reality is, when you’re a fighter – and it’s one of the reasons this sport is as big as it is, because most of you guys don’t tap,” White said. “Most of you guys stay in there, and she did fight like a warrior. For that idiot to say he gave her the opportunity to be a warrior – no. No, you moron. You’re in there to protect her from herself.”
“He makes me sick. That guy has no business reffing fights. And I promise you, you’re never going to see him again.”
What do you think of these heated comments from Dana White?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/8/2018.