Yves Lavigne: 'I screwed up' during Matt Brown vs Pete Sell at UFC 96
by MMAmania.com on Mar 10, 2009 4:40 PM EDT
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Props: The Canadian Press
Quoteworthy:
"I did let Mr. Sell take maybe -- not maybe -- I let him take a beating for absolutely nothing. So I didn't do my job properly. So basically, I screwed up. I screwed up and I'm going to learn from it and try not to do it again. ... I'm going to make sure not to do it again."
This mea culpa from Yves LaVigne will perhaps make Dana White feel a little better. The company president was incensed when the Canadian referee let the fight between Matt Brown and Pete Sell carry on longer than it should, smashing his arm into the canvas (and hurting it) to encourage LaVigne to call a hault to the bout sooner. Brown went on to win the welterweight bout shortly thereafter via technical knockout when LaVigne finally intervened. "Drago" went to the hospital emergency room as a precaution. He checked out fine and even mentioned that Lavigne let him continue as long as he did, saying "I thought he did good with that ..." in his thick Long Island brogue.
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so now dana is calling when the fight should end. WTF
by kyle on Mar 10, 2009 4:41 PM EDT reply actions
I think everyone was saying the fight should have ended. Brown just barely touched Sell in the shoulder and he fell over.
by c-war on Mar 10, 2009 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Way to go Yves. Manning up like that is s good thing. B/c with this scenario there’s a lot of room to wiggle and say “he was standing, he put his hands up, etc.” And people bitch about calling fights to soon all the time. There was definitely an avenue to try to defend his actions, but instead he just said hey “I fucked up” Good man
by Punch You in the Ovaries on Mar 10, 2009 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions
I totally agree. I give Yves a lot respect for admitting that he made a mistake. Also, I think it was smart of him to say that he’s going to learn from it and make sure he doesn’t make the same mistake in the future. He’s an excellent ref, and I don’t think this should keep him from reffing big fights in the future.
by GregC on Mar 10, 2009 6:47 PM EDT up reply actions
I like that dana hyped up the way he was banging the cage. He barely tapped it on the vlog.
by NameNotRequired on Mar 10, 2009 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions
if things aren’t perfect people freak (ie. Dana), everyone fuks up, its cool he apologized
by McArthur on Mar 10, 2009 8:08 PM EDT up reply actions
yes, if only steve mazzagatti had the balls to do that! he messed up big time and came up with the lamest lie ever, warning my a$$ i’ve seen him take points away from other fighters without giving a warning! as soon as someone touches someone in the back of the head he’s all over the the situation.. someone with lightning fast GnP like Brock does not have the time to hold back when someone turns their head
by RoB on Mar 10, 2009 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions
rob,are you refering to the lesnar mir fight?or was thier a under card fight that the same thing happend?just asking?
mcarthur,i agree dana is probally the biggest drama queen.
by NM on Mar 10, 2009 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions
i’m so referring to the lesnar – mir fight and another fight in the UFC that ppl didn’t even care about so it was never brought up.. I just think he should have manned up and stood by his decision and not trying to lie to save his a s s
by RoB on Mar 10, 2009 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions
remember when diaz ko’d lawler before that diaz was tlking smack and mazagatti kept saying no talking wtf lol.i like herb dean as a ref he is pretty far to bad big john left.
by NM on Mar 10, 2009 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Dana has nothing to do with this. Ref’s in other sports come out and say they blew a call from time to time. In this sport, it can cost a fighter his life. Yves is doing the right thing and acknowledging that he made a monumental mistake. One more like this and his career could be over. Most of the time the ref’s do a very good job. For the most part, the fights are stopped when they should be. It’s tough to get in there and have it not be too early but also prevent a couple unnecessary blows but in this case it was a gross misjudgement on his part.
I’m still waiting for some authority to step up and prevent that Shamrock v Lashley fight. If that goes down, that is just as big a failure by the governing bodies as Yves debacle in the Sell fight. Perhaps bigger considering they have plenty of time to sort things out and realize that fight should not happen.
by Crowls on Mar 10, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s hard to figgure out if you should stop a fight. Pete was standing and I don’t think that Yves would want to stop the fight when they were in that position. Pete hit the ground and 2 punches later, the fight was stopped. I don’t think it was THAT bad. John Fitch took a worse beating from GSP in my opinion. He just wasn’t as dazed by it all.
by RyanHobbs on Mar 10, 2009 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Sell fell without being touched, and Brown was asking Yves why the fight wasnt over, then went and bounced Sell’s head off the mat twice. Yves should have stopped it before those two punches.
by RC on Mar 10, 2009 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions
RH. That’s a big part of it. If a guy is dazed then he has suffered some trauma and continued punches will do a lot of damage. The Fitch fight was a tough situation too. That type of punishment over that prolonged a period of time rarely happens. Particularly with the small gloves, guys usually go out before they sustain that amount of punches. In boxing, whether a guy is hurt or not, if he continues to take punishment and it’s clear he has little chance of winning the fight, they will stop it. It’s tough to do that in MMA because even a battered opponent can pull out a victory with one well placed punch wearing 4 oz gloves. It’s a tough debate and an issue that will most likely be addressed in the near future, but I think in most cases, common sense prevails. The Sell fight should have been stopped sooner. It was a strange situation considering Yves stepped in to stop it, then let it continue.
by Crowls on Mar 10, 2009 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Crowls, the last point you made is what I believe to be the biggest point. You can’t jump in and stop a fight, which is what Yves did when he stopped Brown momentarily, and then restart the fight. Once you pull the trigger, it is over. He tried to stop it, thought it was a bit too soon, and then let Pete get creamed all over again.
by naturalshadow on Mar 10, 2009 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions
You can’t help but think that if the fight would have been stopped originally when Yves intervened that people would be complaining about it being an early stoppage. That is probbly why he kept it going. He doesn’t want to be crucified to the media after making a call. Being a ref has to be a tough job. I’d hate to be Steve Mazzagati with all the crap he takes. Don’t get me wrong, I have gotten upset with some of his decisions, but the crap that he takes probably takes a toll on his decision making.
by RyanHobbs on Mar 10, 2009 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions
If he had stopped it right there, it would have been the exact same stoppage as in the Kos fight, but instead of that he let it go too far..
by RoB on Mar 10, 2009 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions
I think this was big of Yves and shows why he should continue to be a ref for the sport.
Look at the video from Dana’s blog—I thought I saw Mir, Hughes, and others also standing and calling for an end to the fight. If people want to criticize Dana here, then it’s pretty difficult to also say he doesn’t care about the fighters.
by BobC on Mar 10, 2009 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I think Yves’ biggest mistake was his initial move to stop the fight. Had he ended it there, he would have gotten much more criticism for an early stoppage.
by DrPepper on Mar 10, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Dana ain’t callin’ no fights. He just wants more consistency out of the refs. Yves should know when to stop. And if a ref stops somethin’, then why the fvck should they let it resume once again?! Stoooopid in Yves’ part. His record will forever be tarnished.
by Syd[a.k.a."The Negation"] on Mar 10, 2009 6:02 PM EDT up reply actions
why all the dana hating if it wasnt for dana 90percent of all the ufc fans wouldn’t b watching ufc
by juggalomike on Mar 10, 2009 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions
yves has it rough lol first when he ate sh*t in the ortiz mchida fight and this.
by NM on Mar 10, 2009 9:17 PM EDT up reply actions
finally,a ref with the gondolas to admit that he fucked up,fair play to him
by bons on Mar 10, 2009 4:52 PM EDT reply actions
personally i love lavigne as a ref – if it was herb dean or anyone else during the GSP vs Fitch fight – it wouldve ended before round 2 and we wouldnt have never gotten to have seen that 5 round epic war they had.
sure optimally he wouldve stopped it once sell fell over from being shoulder tapped – but if it was stopped right away i think people would be complaining about an early stoppage. again.
by jerrolds on Mar 10, 2009 4:52 PM EDT reply actions
lol Wasnt an epic war… It was an Epic 5 round Ass kicking
by hank on Mar 10, 2009 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I think that Sell got kicked in the head, then caught with a right hook to the side of the head and he went down. It was more than a shoulder tap.
by cmon on Mar 10, 2009 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions
He is talking about the ending, not the first knockdown
by enzo-enormous on Mar 10, 2009 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Everybody can have an off night….and last Saturday was his….at least he’s man enough to admit and not make any excuses….still one of the best refs in the game…..would u rather see more of Miragliotta?!! Not me..
by jintao on Mar 10, 2009 4:53 PM EDT reply actions
whether I’m right or wrong I’ll never see Miragliotta the same way after the Kimbo fight with Thomson
by McArthur on Mar 10, 2009 8:11 PM EDT up reply actions
finally a ref with the gondolas to admit tha t he royaly fucked up,fairs play to him
by bons on Mar 10, 2009 4:59 PM EDT reply actions
Takes a big man to admit when he is wrong. Much respect to lavigne, hope it never happens again.
by Dragon on Mar 10, 2009 5:00 PM EDT reply actions
I agree , most never say anything .. Atleast he said he did wrong , and even had the chance too say he wasnt. But said he did and would learn from it pretty cool , The Maz usually takes a different approach.
by Dayzah on Mar 10, 2009 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions
i bet he gets a christmas card from coleman and a facebook buddy invitation from koscheck.
by kmoney on Mar 10, 2009 5:02 PM EDT reply actions
This was the right thing to do. Anybody can make a mistake, it takes strength to admit it publicly. Let’s hope other are as bold.
by ARodOfIron on Mar 10, 2009 5:02 PM EDT reply actions
The fact is he jumped in between the fighters. Once he committed, he should have stopped. Pete Sell never recovered from that first knockdown, and got battered all around the ring. You could tell Matt Brown was doing all he could to keep from hurting him, but Yves kept giving him the green light to continue.
by Fred on Mar 10, 2009 5:04 PM EDT reply actions
i think Joe Rogan and Yves where taking bong hits before that fight. smoking dope makes you stupid !
by Salatious on Mar 10, 2009 5:20 PM EDT reply actions
Yeah, and teaching abstinence is an effective form of sex education.
by GregC on Mar 10, 2009 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Yves Lavigne has always been one of my favorite referees. Simply for the fact that he seemed to have an uncanny ability to recognize that even when guys were in trouble they were still able to recover and win the fight. I do believe many fights are stopped early and some too late.
Yves Lavigne screwed up bigtime and shows maturity and class by admitting that. You can’t hold this against him, referees have an extremely difficult job and who is to say whether he was right or wrong when none of us know how we would react in the same situation.
by Ballam86 on Mar 10, 2009 5:20 PM EDT reply actions
Couldn’t agree more man.It’s easy to sit on our armchairs giving criticism about it but had anyone of us been in the same position who knows how we’d react.On the spur of the moment Yves Lavigne made a bad call but was man enough to admit it.How many others have made bad calls and said nothing.
by MMA-Fan on Mar 11, 2009 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Yves Lavigne is still one of the best referee’s in the sport. Fights should be allowed to go on for a bit longer but if a fighter is badly injured then the referee should have to pay for his medical bills or at least visit him in hospital.
by MMA EXPERT on Mar 10, 2009 5:25 PM EDT reply actions
finally,a ref with the gonads to admit that he royaly screwed up.fair play to the man,still a top ref.
by bons on Mar 10, 2009 5:27 PM EDT reply actions
Okay my whole issue isn’t that the fight went to long, its the fact that Yves steped in early in the fight like he was going to make the early stoppage and then let it go on.
by markie on Mar 10, 2009 5:29 PM EDT reply actions
Yves is still the best ref in the game, no question. When you compare him to Herb, Mirgliotta, Mazzagatti, and even Big John (probably catch crap for this given the ridiculous big john bias that has been floating around forever) there is no question that Yves has made by far the fewest mistakes. Brown v Sell was fucking nothing compared to the beating that al turk took against kongo, and ive never seen yves give an early stoppage like every other ref in the game.
by Scott on Mar 10, 2009 5:57 PM EDT reply actions
Yves imo is the best ref. It sucks that his name had to get tarnished.
by Bill Maher on Mar 10, 2009 6:02 PM EDT reply actions
Yves>White
A man that admits when he’s wrong and apologizes about it. Sucks the guy that pointed the biggest finger at him is a hypocrite that makes more mistakes than Yves could possibly dream of.
by chris on Mar 10, 2009 6:22 PM EDT reply actions
I thought the stoppage was fine.
Better too late then too early.
by Lester the Pimp on Mar 10, 2009 6:42 PM EDT reply actions
It was a bit late but I’m with you… some refs are ruining fights every now and then…
by JonnyBoy on Mar 10, 2009 7:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I am pleased that Yves acknowledged his mistake, as we are all human and make mistakes. There has been a whole lot of controvercy over fights being stopped too early, and lets face it they have!!! MMA fights can change at the blink of an eye, one guy can be knocked to the ground but then submit the guy who is pummeling them. These guys do train intensely for however long they train for, only to get the fight stopped pre-maturely! I know i would be furious and devastated if that happened to me! I JUST WISH THAT THOSE OTHER REFEREES WOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR MISTAKES FOR PREMATURELY STOPPING FIGHTS!!!!
by Ian on Mar 10, 2009 6:42 PM EDT reply actions
Yeah, it’s cool that most people have been pretty understanding about it. People respect him for admitting he made a bad judgement call.
I would hate to have to be one of the refs. Everything can change in a split second and if you falter, someone’s life could potentially be in danger. And inevitably, you’re always going to have people disagreeing with your judgement. I don’t know how they do it.
by justagirl on Mar 10, 2009 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions
He gave Sell more a chance to stay in the UFC. If I was Sell I’d thank him because he’s almost certainly going to get cut.
by scissorfight on Mar 10, 2009 6:59 PM EDT reply actions
Of all the “newer” refs I must say that I like Lavigne the most… this was very bad ref-ing though hope he learns like he says, I just hope he don’t get Mulhall-bad.
Dan Miragliotta and the UK ref without any shoulders Kevin Mulhall knows how to ruin great fights… I wonder if they get money from someone outside UFC for reffing that bad.
One more thing… Cecil Peoples… the blind judge… how can he still be working with the UFC???
by JonnyBoy on Mar 10, 2009 7:48 PM EDT reply actions
Despite this, Yves is still one of the best referees in the UFC. This is the biggest mistake he’s ever made, but mistakes from him are not as common as they are from some other refs.
Lol, Pete Sell even said he thought Yves did well. :P
by BoboJankins on Mar 10, 2009 7:56 PM EDT reply actions
He manned up to it. I’m sure he’ll be a better ref for it
by WayofTheWarrior on Mar 10, 2009 8:09 PM EDT reply actions
I’m glad Yves is owning up to this. Mistakes happen and I’m glad to see that he is conscious of his mistake and has learned from it. It’s the absolute best thing he can do after a mistake has been made.
by DB on Mar 10, 2009 9:31 PM EDT reply actions
Props to Yves for trying to use this as a learning experience.
That being said I’ve never been one to rip on the ref’s that much. As a fan of competition I want to see fights come to a clear definitive conclusion. But I’m also not some blood thirsty jack@ss that wants to see fighters get hurt needlessly.
What everyone needs to keep in mind is that these ref’s have to make decisions in a split second, that everyone else will have all the time in the world to analyze.
by MongoMan on Mar 10, 2009 9:45 PM EDT reply actions
Don’t be so hard on yourself Yves, shit happens. You’re are still one of the best ref’s in my book!!!
by The Juice! on Mar 11, 2009 3:56 AM EDT reply actions
If you watch the fight the ref ended it, he actual wrapped his arms around the fighter who was fixing to swing on a downed opponent, and then he screamed fight fight fight. And that was dumb. Confusion is notoriously bad for safety.
by Jeremiah on Mar 11, 2009 8:24 AM EDT reply actions
Looks like Dana has a little Skala in him after all.
by introvert on Mar 11, 2009 10:17 AM EDT reply actions
Yves has always been one of the more consistent refs in the UFC. When I watched this match I knew that it was one of those mind farts. Everyone has them but when a ref has one it gets scrutinized a lot more. Two cheers for Mr. Lavigne for manning up and showing that he has the balls to say what needed to be said.
by Asjdwf on Mar 11, 2009 10:58 AM EDT reply actions
Ed Hochuli, Phil Luckett, Rich Garcia… Yves Lavigne. What’s the common denominator between the four? They’re all great referees that made huge blunders, affecting the outcome of the game for their respective sports.
Yves Lavigne’s was a big one, and led to more damage than Drago should have taken… but at the end of the day, it was a mistake (again, albeit a big one). Historically, Lavigne has been a great referee (tough but fair and firm) and this seems to have been an isolated incident. If this becomes a habit, then ok, I would understand the “FIRE HIM!” comments, but because he’s had such a great track record, let him face the public criticism (as he has), and give him the opportunity to move forward and leave this behind him.
Yves — if this happens again, you’re on your own, my man.
by fs2117 on Mar 11, 2009 11:58 AM EDT reply actions
Funny pic. Like he’s taking it up the ass and ready to give it to someone. ;P
by nathan on Mar 11, 2009 12:55 PM EDT reply actions
Is anyone really shocked by this. There has been only one consistently good ref in mma and thats Big John. I am so sick of the quality of ref in the ufc. Ufc has the elite fighters in all mma but the refs suck.
by ortizfan94 on Mar 11, 2009 1:16 PM EDT reply actions
A lot of you refer to Big John McCarthy as the “Godfather” of MMA referrees, but he wasn’t always that good. If you look at many of the fights he adjudicated between UFC 1 and UFC 30, he let them go on way longer than this fight. There were some fights were someone was completely unconscious from the first punch and Big John let them take like 6 or 7 more big shots before stopping the fight. He’s only one of the best now because of his years of experience.
by DanBB on Mar 19, 2009 6:05 AM EDT reply actions
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