The welterweights were in action on the UFC 142: "Aldo vs. Mendes" pay-per-view main card tonight (Sat., Jan. 14, 2012) at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as Erick Silva returned to the scene of his spectacular Octagon debut to take on Carlo Prater.
His first time out, at the same arena, Silva knocked his opponent out in just 40 seconds. This time it took him even less time to earn a stoppage.
Not so fast, though.
As it turned out, Silva landed a swarm of blows that referee Mario Yamasaki deemed illegal, saying they were landing on the back of the head. Because of that, Silva was disqualified and the win was awarded to Prater.
In the replay, it appeared as though the punches were landing on the side of the head. Joe Rogan voiced quite clearly that it didn't look as though the shots were landing to the back of the head and Yamasaki made a mistake.
After watching the video, Yamasaki looked slightly sheepish, as though his mostly agreed. However, he has to make a judgement call on the spot and it's a disqualification.
Thoughts on this controversial finish, Maniacs?