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[Cat--Smasher]

Urijah Faber Criticizes Mario Yamasaki Over Jose Aldo-Chad Mendes Bout

One of the first such questions regarded whether or not Aldo should have been penalized for grabbing the fence.

Aldo committed the infraction late in round one as Mendes, a decorated wrestler, went for a takedown. But referee Mario Yamasaki let it slide, and shortly thereafter, Aldo knocked out Mendes with a flying knee as the round wound down.

In response, Faber questioned Yamasaki's judgment and also said the move was deliberate on the champion's part.

"You know, we don't like to dwell on things we can't really control, but, the bottom line is, that's an infraction, they should have stopped the action and maybe started them down," Faber said.

Earlier at UFC 142, Yamasaki took heat from the crowd at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro after disqualifying Erick Silva for allegedly hitting Carlo Prater in the back of the head during a bout Silva was clearly winning. The way Faber sees it, Yamasaki didn't want to risk incurring the wrath of the crowd a second time.

"The ref had said something about [fence grabbing] in the locker room before the fight," Faber said. "But he had been put on blast because of a questionable call against the Brazilians earlier in the night, so I guess he didn't want to piss off the Brazilians very much."

Faber thinks that the fence grab was part of a strategy employed by Aldo.

"I think he was prepared to take the penalty for the fence grab, but it didn't happen," he said. "It's not his fault, he just kept on fighting, he was doing that to save himself from getting taken down. It would have changed the fight for sure.

"I think he did that on purpose, because he knows, he knew [the ground was] where he didn't want to be. He was willing to take a penalty to avoid that. It was a gamble on his part and it paid off.

Urijah Faber Criticizes Mario Yamasaki Over Jose Aldo-Chad Mendes Bout - MMA Fighting

[Kimbo> Rampage]

I hope Faber can get his rematch with Aldo... that he wanted so much in the past.

Just so Jose can KHTFO this time, instead of just beating the shit out of Faber.

[Qball1974]

He's right the ref dropped the ball on that one.

[goodtimes]

Faber talked about starting the fight on the ground off of a fence grab infraction, honestly I like that idea. Instead of penalizing guys a point after grabbing the fence 3+ times, just reset it on the ground and count it as a takedown if a guy grabs the fence, intentionally or not.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

The fencegrab was definately a gamechanger especially when you factor in what gameplan Mendes was looking to employ. Had Mendes achieved the takedown that Aldo'd illegally halted, Mendes would've achieved something huge from a mental standpoint in that he'd have felt within the driver's seat, as well as from a physical standpoint since the grind n ground n pound is Mendes' money, which would've brought Aldo into his world, if ever so briefly.

Once the TD was nullified, Mendes didn't really get that good of a look again before Aldo took him out. I can't say that Mendes would've won the fight, kept Aldo down for the round or done anything on the ground.....but that is what Mendes was looking to do and Aldo cheated to avoid it without referee reprisal.

[Spoon]

Reminds me of when Fedor kept grabbing the ropes against Lindland. Who knows, maybe Lindland would have been the 1st to beat him, if it would have been stopped.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Originally Posted by Spoon

Reminds me of when Fedor kept grabbing the ropes against Lindland. Who knows, maybe Lindland would have been the 1st to beat him, if it would have been stopped.

While I too can see the comparisons, considering that Fedor subbed him via armbar in the first anyways, I don't believe it would've had the same impact(it went to the ground anyways, which is where Lindland wanted it and Fedor won it). Afterall, this is the dude that got subbed TWICE in one fight by Bustamante and given the size he was giving up and Fedor's submission skills, it probably didn't have as significant of an impact.

[joeodd2]

guys grab the fence and get warned about it all the time, Mario didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Had it happened twice, then it should have been a point but one time they usually let it slide...

[durtyhipy]

Tbh, it seems like the fence grab is a part of most fighters' game plans. They all know they can get away with at least one, so they strategically prepare for the opportunity to use it. Like using your lifeline on Who wants to be a millionaire, its just part of the game.

[zana1126]

I guess all this crying its about himself more than it is about his teammate. Faber is always crying about something. I hope Aldo can do to his face what he did to his leg.