Mario Yamasaki will be a third man in the cage when the UFC takes its third trip to Brazil for UFC 142, which takes place Jan. 14 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Working within a well-oiled machine is by now something he's used to, but the longtime referee wants to help the country build a stronger regulatory framework as the sport gets bigger.
"Brazil is no man's land," Yamasaki recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "Anybody can do anything, and I'm trying to make it the same as the Unified Rules (of MMA) for the whole country."
Yamasaki's roots prepared him well for his current job. A native of Sao Paulo, his father was one of two international referees qualified to oversee Olympic matches in judo, which he and his brother studied from a young age.
"We used to fake a fight to train the referees," he said. "So we learned the mechanics. In judo, you have to be right there in the moment. You can't wait a couple of seconds to decide. It's the same thing as MMA."
Now a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Yamasaki has refereed in the UFC since 1999 and has overseen countless high-profile fights within the promotion, including this past Friday's UFC 141 headliner between former heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem. That puts him in demand for international events, and his importing business often takes him back to native soil.
Unfortunately, Yamasaki is often dismayed at what he sees backstage: glove weighting, foreign substances rubbed on bodies, and all manner of rule-bending that would be illegal if Brazil had a commission.
"I go to a lot of events where they don't even have doctors or inspectors," he said.
The problem spreads to judging, as well. This past September, Yamasaki oversaw the retirement bout of Royler Gracie, which took place in Manaus, Brazil, at Amazon Forest Combat 1.
"Royler lost the three rounds, and one of the judges gave it to Royler," Yamasaki said. "After the fight, I said, 'What are you thinking? Why did you give it to Royler?' (He said,) 'Oh, it's his last fight. He did so much for jiu-jitsu.' I said, 'C'mon, man.'
Yamasaki, who now resides in Pennsylvania, said he hopes to help in setting up a proper athletic commission to oversee events in Brazil, though he won't take a position within it. In February, he's importing his referee training course to the country.
"I'm helping them start a commission and just doing my MMA courses," he said. "If somebody dies or gets hurt in Brazil, it's going to be bad for the name of the sport and for Brazil. I'm trying to make it so everybody's the same, so everybody thinks the same."
That's just the attitude when he works a UFC event, after all, and the success of the promotion can partly be attributed to a handful of judges such as Yamasaki, Herb Dean and John McCarthy, even though they are rarely recognized for the bulk of their work.
"I don't choose sides; I'm always the same," Yamasaki said. "It doesn't matter if he's my brother, my cousin, if he's Brazilian or Japanese. I, and a lot of the other referees, like to be different than boxing. Because if we ref somebody, that's our profession. It doesn't matter if they're friends.
"In the fight, the best guy has to win. You have to give them a chance to do whatever they're going to do, and you have to be correct. We've got respect because we do that."
For the latest on UFC 142, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.» ReplyComments: 44 Related News UFC 142 Only on Junkie UFC UFC 142 main card set for return to BrazilMMAjunkie.com Radio: Anthony Njokuani, Anthony Johnson, Sergio Non, Joey OddessaReplacement Caio Magalhaes meets Fabio Maldonado at UFC 142 in BrazilReplacement Ricardo Funch meets Mike Pyle at UFC 142 in BrazilWEC vet Carlo Prater meets Erick Silva as injury replacement at UFC 142Gabriel Gonzaga returns at UFC 142, meets Ednaldo Oliveira on prelimsBahadurzada, Broughton, Nedkov scratched from UFC 142; Thiago also reported outUFC 142 prelims to air on FX'Countdown to UFC 142' preview show debuts Jan. 10 on FUEL TV Strikeforce champ Rockhold: Despite recent bumps, AKA poised for breakout yearUFC 141 'UFC Prelims' ratings: Final Spike TV special earns 1.8 million viewersJ.J. Ambrose joins Bellator's season-six lightweight tourneyWar Machine, Carlos Alexandre Pereira join Bellator's season-six welterweight tourneyStrikeforce's 'King Mo' on opponent Larkin: 'Flashy isn't always effective'Strikeforce's Nah-Shon Burrell: I'm trying to follow in Jon Jones' footstepsUFC's Thiago Silva serves term of one-year NSAC license revocationOli Thompson vs. Shawn Jordan added to UFC on FX 2The Sunday Junkie: Jan. 1 edition UFC targeting summer for Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem title fightUFC on FUEL TV 1 tickets on sale this week for Feb. 15 Omaha eventAnthony Perosh vs. Nick Penner slated for UFC on FX 2 in SydneyAmir Sadollah out, Matt Riddle in against Jorge Lopez at UFC 143Ken Stone out of UFC on FX 1 main-card bout due to injuryUFC 141 'UFC Prelims' ratings: Final Spike TV special earns 1.8 million viewersMatt Wiman vs. Mark Bocek added to UFC 145 in MontrealMark Hominick vs. Eddie Yagin on tap for UFC 145 in MontrealUFC 141 medical suspensions: Lesnar, Diaz, Matyushenko, Gamburyan out six months
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