It was not good to be a Yamasaki last night. Mario and brother Fernando each made questionable decisions, including an early stoppage in the curtain jerker between Walel Watson and Joseph Sandoval, “saving” Shane Roller from T.J. Grant’s armbar, and allowing Yves Edwards every opportunity to inflict brain damage on Rafaello Oliveira. Fortunately for the Brothers Yamasaki, those fighters were only watched by the handful of fans who tune into the Facebook streams.
Mario carried the amateur hour into the Versus main card, however. After the jump, a look at two GIFs of Anthony Johnson’s head kick “knockout” of Charlie Brenneman.
Yamasaki’s in good position to see the kick itself — he has a direct line to Brenneman’s chin. Unfortunately, his positioning affords him no angle on Brenneman after impact. As Brenneman falls away from the fence, Johnson’s momentum carries him into Yamasaki’s line of sight.
Any decision in life is best made with as much information as possible. Yamasaki had information here: Brenneman DID stumble into the fence and the impact of Johnson’s leg likely sent Brenneman’s eyes into googly land. One crucial piece of information he missed? Brenneman braced himself for impact and had a clear look in his eyes once he landed on the floor. He IMMEDIATELY communicated with his eyes his disappointment with Yamasaki’s decision.
Yamasaki apologists have pointed to the likelihood that Johnson would have finished Brenneman shortly after the kick anyhow…and that’s probably true. But that doesn’t exonerate his mistake. That he stopped this fight early after allowing Yves Edwards license to kill two fights prior only compounds the matter.
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