The Beatdown: Time for instant replay in MMA?

There were many highlights and dramatic finishes at UFC 142. It was a memorable night for fights: Edson Barboza had one of the most spectacular head kick knockouts of all time; Vitor Belfort choked out Anthony Johnson to the chanting of “Ole! Ole ole ole! Vitor! Vitor!” by the enthusiastic Brazilian crowd; Jose Aldo defended his title with a knockout by knee, and surprised everybody when he rushed into the crowd.

Another Brazilian, Erick Silva, had a lightning quick TKO finish. But his victory was taken away when referee Mario Yamasaki (pictured) ruled the fight was a disqualification win for Carlo Prater due to illegal back-of-the-head strikes. Replays showed that only one punch cleanly and squarely hit the back of the head, although others came close.

It once again raised the question of whether mixed martial arts and the UFC are in need of an instant replay system like most major sports. The simple answer is yes, with a balance of course. Nobody wants to see every stoppage reviewed and give refs a chance to second guess a subjective decision as to whether a fighter could or should have continued. The UFC has always been good about doing things on a case-by-case basis. They’ll know just as well as the rest of us when a replay is needed, and can use it at that time.

However, overuse shouldn’t be an issue. Refs in combat sports aren’t as heavily involved as in other sports — a warning here and there to not grab the fence or your opponent’s shorts, the rare point deduction for continually breaking a rule. There wouldn’t be the need to consult the tape in each round. Replay would primarily be needed for stoppages, and the majority of stoppages aren’t controversial.

Had there been instant replay, Yamasaki would have had the chance to likely change his mind and see that only one punch had clearly hit the back of the head, and could have awarded the win to Silva. Instead, Yamasaki got to see his mistake after the disqualification and had to defend his mistake to Joe Rogan instead of correct it. He told Rogan this in the post-fight interview when he explained that he has to make these decisions in the moment: “I have to decide right there and then.”‘

What was unfortunate for Yamasaki was the timing. If Prater survives and gets up, it probably ends up a round to Silva, likely not even a point taken away. When the illegal blows, real or imagined, occur just as the fighter is unable to continue, Yamasaki is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Instant replay bails him out, as intended.

On these rare occasions where a fight is stopped at the same time as illegal strikes were thrown (see Jon Jones vs. Matt Hamill), instant replay could be used to determine whether these strikes were indeed illegal, and whether they were the cause of the finish or merely a small part of what led to the end.

Silva’s fight was actually the perfect scenario for instant replay. With how quickly his punches were flying, with Prater face down and squirming, and with how close some of those shots came to being illegal, it’s easy to see how Yamasaki made the mistake. It’s only with the benefit of the slow-mo replay that we can say with certainty that it was an incorrect decision. Had instant replay been in effect, Silva would have won. That’s OK. He handled the situation perfectly, calmly saying he feels victorious and has great respect for the ref, and we’ve now got the catalyst to begin implementing a replay system.

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Previously in The Beatdown …

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Tim Gilmour is a sports reporter and author of the humor blog LetMeThinkForYou.com. For more NBCSports.com MMA coverage, click here.