The Brazilian Antonio Pezão He waited a long time to get the chance to fight for the UFC heavyweight belt. But in 81 seconds the Paraíba athlete's dream ended and he was knocked out by the champion Cain Velazquez in the main fight of UFC 161. However, despite recognizing his rival's merits, Pezão was unhappy with referee Mário Yamazaki's interruption in the confrontation.
“I think he stopped too quickly, but my thinking is this. When an athlete does something wrong, he is punished. I think the referee needs to be punished too. I don't have to say anything, just watch the video. I took several blows to the back of the head. He was in the locker room before and said that the first one (on the back of the head) would be a warning, and the second one would take away a point. I took several blows to the back of the head,” he said.
“Cain is a great athlete, that’s no excuse. I’m going to prepare and hope to come back better”, added the Brazilian at the press conference after the show.
Pezão's idea seems to have pleased Dana White, president of the UFC. The leader also seems to have disliked the mediator's interruption. “I loved the idea of punishing referees. It’s the best idea I’ve heard in a while,” he commented.
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3 responses to “Pezão complains about the referee and asks for punishment: ‘I took several blows to the back of the head’”
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I counted 6 punches to the back of the head. For much less than that, this referee defeated a Brazilian who was in the same situation as Cain. Cain just called the heck about grabbing the back of the head. The first punch, come on, could be said to have been an accident, but he punched without caring where he landed. Rule is rule. Another ethical fighter would have missed the chance to finish, as he would have been careful about the back of the head and would not have been able to impose this massacre. I don't even criticize the stoppage, because after so many blows, Pezão was gone, but the back of his head was hit several times. Either the rule changes or everyone follows it, because when you are Brazilian there is zero tolerance.
I think Cain should have been punished, he delivered several blows to the back of the big guy's head, and the referee made a mistake and should have waited longer!
I believe that Pezão needs better training. He needs someone to guide him and acquire more speed, he has to be more agile and dexterous. With those long arms and all that wingspan, he just doesn't let Cain or any other fighter touch him, as he has super strong punches. He already demonstrated this against Overin and Russo. Just hit it and don't let it touch. But his psychology also needs to be better trained, as he still fights very shyly, he doesn't seem to feel confident at the beginning of the fight. Someone has to teach him to have confidence. Please, coaches, transform this athlete into a fighter who is more than a winner. And not on a man who says that the belt belongs to someone else (saying that the belt belongs to Cigano doesn't work, it was a shameful fight, Pezão does deserve it, he just needs to have transformed). A hug Pezão and stay under God's grace.