EXCLUSIVE: Mário Yamasaki explains controversy surrounding illegal strike in fight between Brazilian women at UFC Vegas 115

Mario Yamazaki before leading an MMA confrontation. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook Mário Yamasaki

The controversial illegal scam connected by Dione Barbosa against Melissa Gatto The second preliminary fight at UFV Vegas 115 generated a series of reactions throughout the MMA world. In the second round, the fighter from Pernambuco landed a powerful kick to the neck while her opponent was on all fours on the mat. After losing a point, The Witch maintained her lead in the fight and, after the 15 regulation minutes, was declared the winner by majority decision.

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In this context, SUPER LUTAS conducted an interview with Mário Yamasaki this Monday (6), during the latest edition of SUPER LUTAS News on YouTube. Regarding the matter, the Brazilian congratulated the decision taken by referee Chris Tognoni and the Nevada Athletic Commission to allow the fight to continue and watch the replay before taking any action.

“This shows the importance of the replay. It was a very loud noise, but you can see that the kick hit the neck and went into the chest. She (Gatto) didn't actually faint, but she fell, I believe startled by the noise. Since the referee saw that it wasn't an intentional kick, he only deducted one point because it wasn't that serious. I think he acted correctly, especially since she wanted to continue fighting. She had the option not to. The referee's decision was correct,” he stated.

Later, Yamasaki also highlighted that although the strike didn't hit Melissa's face, the neck area shouldn't be targeted by kicks and/or knees when the athlete is on three or more points of contact, due to the vulnerability of areas like the trachea. The victory marked the return of the Pernambuco native to the win column. Now, she has three positive results in the world's largest MMA organization.

😱 She's OUT! Controversy at # UFCVegas115 as 🇧🇷 Dione Barbosa lands an illegal kick that appears to KO Melissa Gatto.

After over 5 minutes of deliberation, one point is deducted and the fight continues — Barbosa goes on to win a majority decision. 👀 Thoughts?#WMMA #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/qVm0Q1ehKL

— Women's MMA Rankings (@WMMARankings) April 4, 2026