By now, everyone is familiar with the war going on between UFC President Dana White and referee Mario Yamasaki.
White, apparently, is not letting up, either. In fact, he’s going a step further and promising that fans will not see Mario Yamasaki again.
In a quote from MMA Mania, White said:
I think he’s [Yamasaki’s] disgusting, and I never want to see him reffing ever again. 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. 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.”
The UFC President, of course, does not have the power to fire referees. I would pity the referees if he did.
However, the UFC brings millions of dollars in revenue to cities such as Las Vegas, and if White threatened never to hold an event there again, it would certainly put pressure on the relevant commissions to take Yamasaki out.
Could we have seen the last of referee Mario Yamasaki?
