{"id":244714,"date":"2017-07-19T08:58:33","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T15:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=244714"},"modified":"2022-02-04T20:27:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T04:27:58","slug":"mario-yamasaki-still-standing-by-controversial-lee-chiesa-stoppage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/kevin-lee\/mario-yamasaki-still-standing-by-controversial-lee-chiesa-stoppage\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario Yamasaki still standing by controversial Lee-Chiesa stoppage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, veteran UFC referee Mario Yamasaki caught heat for a rather controversial stoppage he made during the UFC Fight Night 112 main event scrap between Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee. <\/p>\n

With Chiesa trapped in a rear naked choke with no escape in sight, ‘The Maverick’ stopped hand fighting the choke, and momentarily appeared to go limp, at which point Yamasaki promptly stopped the fight<\/a>. Immediately, Chiesa popped up to protest the stoppage, however the fight was already over. The stoppage was an extremely controversial one in the eyes of many because despite Chiesa momentarily stopping his hand fighting, he never verbally, or physically, tapped out.<\/p>\n

\"UFC<\/p>\n

Now, nearly a month following the fight, Yamasaki is defending his actions once again, explaining the situation to MMAJunkie<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would have been easier to just have let it go on,\u201d Yamasaki told MMAjunkie. \u201cBut the rule is clear, and when the fighters stop defending themselves intelligently, the referee must defend them. They don\u2019t have to tap. As soon as he went out, I intervened. I\u2019ve been in this business for over 20 years, and I know what I saw.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe athletic commission has already gotten in touch with me so I can respond to what happened,\u201d Yamasaki said. \u201cI think he\u2019s within his right to appeal. Chiesa is a great athlete, certainly one of the best in the world. The commission will assess what happened,, and I\u2019m certain they\u2019ll make the best possible decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur intention is not to harm anyone. I\u2019ll keep doing my job ethically and certain of what is correct. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve stayed there for years.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"UFC<\/p>\n

Fortunately, after 20 years as a referee, Yamasaki knows how to handle criticism in regards to the stoppage, and is taking everything in stride, despite the fact that he admits it does “get to you” on occasion.<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com<\/a> on 7\/19\/2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month, veteran UFC referee Mario Yamasaki caught heat for a rather controversial stoppage he made during the UFC Fight Night 112 main event scrap between Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee. With Chiesa trapped in a rear naked choke with no escape in sight, ‘The Maverick’ stopped hand fighting the choke, and momentarily appeared to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":243162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[19995,10516],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMario Yamasaki still standing by controversial Lee-Chiesa stoppage | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Referee Mario Yamasaki defends his controversial stoppage in last months 'UFC Fight Night 112' main event between Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/kevin-lee\/mario-yamasaki-still-standing-by-controversial-lee-chiesa-stoppage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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