Sorry, I didn't answer your question. I know of no way to fix this. A MAT file will apply whatever material it contains to the figure. If the material in the MAT isn't in the figure, it'll just be added to the end of the list. If you make a MAT with the material 'supercalifragalisticexpialidocious', that name'll be added to the figure. Of course, it won't do anything, except give you a fright, but there you go... mac