50 of the best moments of Dana White’s career
By Amy Kaplan
Mario Yamasaki
By Cynthia Vespia
Veteran referee Mario Yamasaki garnered a lot of criticism over his officiating of the flyweight bout between Valentina Shevchenko and Priscila Cachoeira in Belem, Brazil. One of his biggest critics was UFC President Dana White. During the fight, Cachoeira got battered with strikes from Shevchenko which made many believe the fight should’ve been stopped well before Yamasaki called the contest. As the assigned official in the match, Yamasaki called the fight at 4 minutes, 25 seconds of the second round, after Cachoeira tapped out to a rear-naked choke. White took exception to the late stoppage and posted his disgust with Yamasaki’s officiating and also brought up other controversial calls from the past.
“Priscila Cachoeira, you showed so much heart and toughness in that fight,” White wrote on his Instagram. “I’m honored to have you fight in the UFC. Unfortunately, the ref is there to protect you and Mario DID NOT do that. This isn’t his first disgusting performance in the Octagon. Another unfortunate thing is that I can’t do anything about it, only the Brazilian commission can and I am hoping after this scary, incompetent showing he hopefully will never set foot in that Octagon again.”
“Do you want to be a fighter”
By Joe Duffy
Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter changed the UFC and MMA forever. White and the promotion cast a group of middleweights and light heavyweights to live in a house together and compete against each other, but what the fighters didn’t all know is that in competing against one another, they would actually have to fight.
Some of the castmates in the original TUF house did not take a liking to the idea of fighting each other. Guys were distraught and making it clear to their coaches and the production crew that they took issue with the concept. In response, White gave one of the most memorable speeches in TV history.
“Do you want to be a fighter?”
Seven words every MMA fan will remember forever. White lit a fire under the guys in the house and what it produced after was an amazing season of television, and the fight that changed the landscape of the sport forever.