Referee Mario Yamasaki has accepted UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa’s grappling challenge.
Chiesa is upset with Yamasaki over the finish of his last fight. Last month, Chiesa fought lightweight contender Kevin Lee in the main event of a UFC Fight Night in Oklahoma City.
In the first round, Lee secured a rear-naked choke and Chiesa appeared to have passed out, so Yamasaki stopped the fight without Chiesa submitting. However, Chiesa was conscious when the fight stopped and was upset with the stoppage.
“I saw the moment he went out,” Yamasaki told MMA Fighting. “He can complain, but there’s no other way. The athletic commission already reviewed it, there’s nothing more to say. (The commission) contacted me, I explained what I saw and he explains what he saw and felt. They watched the fight in slow motion and didn’t find anything wrong.
“It would have been a lot easier to let him go out longer, but my job is to defend his integrity when he’s no longer doing it for himself.”
Chiesa later challenged Yamasaki to a grappling match so he could justify his actions as a referee.
“I’m 53 years old, I don’t train anymore, how am I going to do this?” Yamasaki said. “And what’s the point of him fighting me? What would that change? What does he want to prove? It’s childish. Even if he catches me or if I catch him, that won’t change anything that happened in his fight. What is he trying to prove?”
“If he gives me some time to train, I’d grapple with him. Tell him to come to my academy, no problem. I have 10 academies in the United States, he can come any time he wants.”
