Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
In the second bout of the UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes main card, it seemed to all the world that Erick Silva had just destroyed another opponent in under a minute and was on the fast track to stardom. That all came crashing down soon after though, when referee Mario Yamasaki decided that Silva had landed punches to the back of the head in his assault, and he disqualified him. Carlo Prater was awarded the win after 29 seconds.
Silva started off by dodging some Prater punches, then landed a thudding knee that crumpled Prater. Silva jumped on top of him and dropped a ton of hammerfists on a curled-up Prater, which caused Yamasaki to step in. After the disqualification, Joe Rogan interviewed Yamasaki where he explained his decision. The replay showed just one shot landing solidly on the back of the head, but since the exact definition of what "back of the head" means in MMA is so muddled, it's tough to say whether some of the other hammerfists qualified as illegal shots or not.
What was the high spot of this fight?
The finishing sequence with the knee and the hammerfists. Initially it looked like a lot more punches landed to the back of the head, but upon review, it seemed that a lot of the shots were indeed legal.
Where do these guys go from here?
Silva's momentum is unlikely to be slowed by such a controversial decision. Silva has one very important guy in his corner regarding the issue - UFC president Dana White, who gave Silva his win bonus and thought it was a bad decision by Yamasaki. With only two bouts in the UFC thus far, it's unlikely that he'll get a top-tier welterweight in his next bout, but a step up in competition seems logical (granted, Prater was a late replacement for Siyar Bahadurzada). A bout with fellow UFC 142 winner Mike Pyle might be a little too much for him this early in his UFC career, but I'd certainly like to see it.
Despite the fact that he never landed a strike, got a takedown, or attempted a submission, Carlo Prater is now 1-0 in the UFC. Obviously he'll get another fight, but I wouldn't expect it to be against a big-name fighter. Jake Hecht would be a suitable opponent.
Watch it now, later or never?
Now. Silva's a beast and the finishing sequence was brutal. And you can be the judge of whether Yamasaki made the right call or not.
UFC 142 Results: Wallid Ismail Reacts To Erick Silva DQ - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Results: Six Fights To Make After Aldo Vs. Mendes - Ben Thapa
UFC 142 Results: Anthony Johnson Cut Following Loss To Vitor Belfort - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Results: Winners, Losers, And Other Thoughts - Matt Roth
UFC 142: Rosi Sexton On Anthony Johnson And The Risks Of Weight Cutting - Bloody Elbow
UFC 142 Results: Anthony Johnson 'Likely Cut' Following Loss To Vitor Belfort - Brent Brookhouse
UFC 142 Results Video: Jose Aldo Vs. Chad Mendes Full Fight Highlights - Bloody Elbow
UFC 142: Aldo Vs. Mendes Results And Post-Fight Analysis - Brent Brookhouse
UFC 142 Results: Jose Aldo Knocks Out Chad Mendes Then Celebrates In Crowd - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Results: Vitor Belfort Defeats Anthony Johnson By Rear Naked Choke - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Results: Rousimar Palhares Takes Home Mike Massenzio's Leg - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Results: Erick Silva Disqualified In Fight With Carlo Prater - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Results: Edson Barboza Knocks Out Terry Etim With A Wheel Kick - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Post-Fight Press Conference Video - Tim Burke
Bad Boy Presents Bloody Elbow Radio - Episode 122: UFC 142 Results Review - Matt Bishop
UFC 142 Results: Thiago Tavares Defeats Sam Stout by Uanimous Decision - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Aldo Vs. Mendes Results: Gabriel Gonzaga Chokes Out Edinaldo Oliveira - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Aldo Vs. Mendes Results: Mike Pyle Knocks Out Ricardo Funch In First Round - Matt Roth
UFC 142 Aldo Vs. Mendes Results: Felipe Arantes Dominates Antonio Carvalho - Matt Roth
UFC 142: Aldo Vs. Mendes - Live Results And Play-By-Play For PPV - Brent Brookhouse
UFC 142: Aldo Vs. Mendes - Live Results And Play-By-Play For Undercard - Brent Brookhouse
0 recs | 4 comments
watch out for this kid 2 ufc fights 2 beat downs in less than a minute
he is fast,athletic,explosive,powerful and has a bjj black belt
P86 - January 16, 2012
You should add a poll
I want to see how many people thought it was legal or not.
I thought a majority were legal except for like one or two.
av1o3 - January 16, 2012
After watching in slo-mo
I saw one that was perfectly on the back of the head. All the others were gray area.
Andy Davis - January 16, 2012
Tough call, but needs to happen more often
I was surprised that Mario made that call, I don’t give him credit for watching the fights that close…but wasn’t it a strike to the back of Mir’s head that caused Mario to stand Mir and Lesnar up, which gave Mir an opening to grab the submission in their first fight? The back of the head may be something Mario really feels strongly about, and I can’t say that I blame him for it.
I’d like to see blows to the back of the head called more often, personally. i think they are very damaging, could lead to lingering injury, and are definitely fight stoppers. I can’t think of anyone who takes a shot there and recovers unless the refs call it and stop the fight.
I think Vitor Belfort is one of the worst offenders, so I found it ironic that it was called on a night Vitor would be fighting. Vitor’s KO over Akiyama should have been ruled a DQ, I lost count of the blows he landed to the back of Akiyama’s head.
RobtWeaver - January 16, 2012
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