The Return Of Mario Yamasaki …

One of the most notorious mixed martial arts (MMA) referees returned to action recently.

The 2023 PFL Championships went down this weekend (Fri., Nov. 24, 2023) in which Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeated Clay Collard to win the Lightweight championship in the main event from inside The Anthem Arena in Washington, D.C. (watch highlights).

Right before the first championship fight on pay-per-view between Impa Kasanganay and Josh Silveira started, MMA fans were absolutely shocked when long-time UFC-banned referee Mario Yamasaki took center stage to start the bout.

Yamasaki was famously booted from working any UFC events by UFC CEO Dana White after he let Valentina Shevchenko beat the life out of Priscila Cachoeira, landing more than 200 unanswered strikes; the blackballed referee’s answer was “to allow Cachoeira to be a warrior and keep fighting.”

Yamasaki has been out of the limelight for several years only working regional shows in Brazil from late 2018 to 2022. The last time he refereed for a major promotion was when PFL held their 2018 playoffs in Washington, D.C. and that is because he lives in the city and his brother own gyms there.

Of course, when Yamasaki was seen on the broadcast, Twitter went nuts.

Thankfully, no PFL fighters were injured, and no fighters sustained extra damage.

So…are Steve Mazagatti and Kim Winslow next?

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For complete PFL 10: Championship 2023 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.