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Despite the UFC electing not to reverse Mario Yamasaki's decision to disqualify Erick Silva for finishing Carlo Prater with "blows to the back of the head" at UFC 142, the controversial subject continues to live on.
Prater, the one man who had yet to speak on the subject, broke his silence in a recent interview with SportTV.com, and, suffice to say, the veteran of 41 fights was deeply unhappy with way the situation was handled.
"I think in the end I was made out as a villain," Prater said (via Bleacher Report). "I had to stay in the hospital until Monday. They asked me not to go public because, indeed, that wouldn't do any good for me or Erick. In my opinion, Mario did the right thing. You are not allowed to do anything you want inside the cage. Watching the fight video, I could see at least nine blows to the back of the head."
Yamasaki has been widely criticized for his decision, from fans and UFC President Dana White alike, but none were more critical than UFC color analyst and ringside commentator Joe Rogan.
Immediately following the disqualification, Rogan charged into the Octagon and passionately questioned the referee's decision. It was a rare sight, and one that several fighters doubted the necessity of, as it did little to curb the oncoming tide of vitriol that was headed Prater's way.
In the days afterward, Rogan explained his confrontation on popular mixed martial arts forum The Underground and posted a .gif of the finish to Twitter as proof of his case, much to the chagrin of Prater.
"I think the way Joe Rogan behaved was completely unethical," the fighter said. "He went with the crowd. A real professional doesn't do that. He was acting like a fan when he should be acting as a commentator."
In the end, a spurned Prater held no words back when asked how his opinion of Rogan has changed because of the drama.
"Mario is a million time more competent than him. He's been living off this for 20 years. Joe Rogan is just a swagger, someone who walks amongst fighters but isn't really a fighter himself. He doesn't understand," he declared, before concluding. "Whatever, human beings make mistakes and I am not going to be holding grudges against him."
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