Mario Yamasaki plans to attend a refereeing seminar held by veteran referee turned Bellator commentator John McCarthy.

Yamasaki’s aim is twofold: To observe the course’s structure and apply it to the refereeing seminars he teaches, and to prove himself to athletic commissions and the UFC.

“I think they’re going to know I’m still trying to be the best that I can be,” Yamasaki today told MMAjunkie. “I’m not cocky, just saying, ‘I’ve been there for 19 years; I can’t learn any more.'”

Yamasaki was written off by UFC President Dana White after an extremely late stoppage that allowed Priscila Cachoeira to take dozens of unanswered punches at February’s UFC Fight Night 125. The referee subsequently released a statement defending his call by stating he allowed Cachoeira to be a warrior by fighting longer.

Yamasaki now regrets the statement and admits he should have simply owned up to his mistake.

“I should have stopped it a little earlier, but I didn’t,” he said.

McCarthy’s course, C.O.M.M.A.N.D., takes place July 6-8 in connection with the UFC’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas. The course is officially recognized by the Association of Boxing Commissions and is considered one of the most reputable sources of referee and judge training for prospective MMA officials. (Full disclosure: The author took the course in 2011 as a journalist and did not pass.)

McCarthy told MMAjunkie Yamasaki pitched him on the idea of an online tutorial in July, but said “that’s not going to happen.” He said Yamasaki said nothing about attending the referee course and would need to pass the course if he intended to take it, adding “I’m not going to pass him because he’s Mario Yamasaki.”

The Brazilian Athletic Commission (CABMMA) did not assign Yamasaki to referee this month’s UFC 224 in Brazil. The commission, which the veteran referee helped form, said it would decide moving forward what formal steps to take on his future work with the commission. CABMMA Director of Operations Christiano Sampaio did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Yamasaki’s status.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa, who unsuccessfully appealed an early stoppage Yamasaki called in a fight against Kevin Lee, said UFC VP of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner told him Yamasaki would never referee a UFC event again.

Yamasaki hopes that isn’t the case, but he’s intentionally not volunteered his services to commissions that host UFC events, planning to wait six months before he tries to work again.

Meanwhile, even just as an observer at McCarthy’s course, Yamasaki expects to sharpen his skills as a referee.

“John, for me, is my mentor,” he said. “He’s been with me since I started. He always helped me, so I think that’s always going to help me. It can never hurt to learn more and see more and listen.”

Yamasaki runs his own martial arts school in Maryland but also has lived in Brazil and said he intends to spend more time stateside.

“I was more in Brazil, so I was not up to speed, I guess, on everything that’s happening here,” he said. “I need to involve myself more in the scene.”

While Yamasaki believes the backlash over him isn’t completely fair based on his 19 years of refereeing in the sport, he acknowledges he’s got work to do to rehabilitate his image.

“If you count for 19 years I’ve been reffing, how many were controversial? Four? Five? But people always see mistakes,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do. I just have to focus and try not to make any early calls or late calls. Reprogram. Do my job, you know?”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.