John McCarthy News
John McCarthy and Josh Thomson weigh in on Kayla Harrison’s decision to sign with UFC: “I think she went where the easier fights are”
Cole Shelton - January 25, 2024
John McCarthy and Josh Thomson believe Kayla Harrison signed with the UFC to go after easier fights. Earlier this week, UFC CEO Dana White announced the promotion has signed Harrison and she will debut at UFC 300 against Holly Holm. It was a shocking announcement and former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson was disappointed with the signing.
John McCarthy thinks Colby Covington won’t ever “reach that pinnacle” following loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 296: “Did you see who he called out?”
Harry Kettle - January 4, 2024
MMA analyst John McCarthy isn’t convinced that Colby Covington will ever reach the championship level after his loss at UFC 296. Last month at UFC 296, Colby Covington fell short in his attempt to claim the UFC welterweight championship. He lost via unanimous decision to Leon Edwards in a bout that was largely dominated by the reigning champion from Birmingham, England. In the aftermath of the contest, fans and pundits alike were quick to criticize ‘Chaos’ for the way he fought.
John McCarthy believes Dana White's PFL comments spawn from frustration over missing out on Bellator fighters
Harry Kettle - December 6, 2023
John McCarthy has given his thoughts on UFC president Dana White’s recent comments regarding PFL purchasing Bellator. The MMA community has had a few weeks to digest the news that PFL has purchased Bellator. As you can imagine, there have been plenty of opinions flying around regarding what it means for the sport and for both brands moving forward.
John McCarthy shares theory as to why the UFC didn’t want Stipe Miocic fighting for the interim heavyweight title
Harry Kettle - November 1, 2023
MMA analyst John McCarthy has given his thoughts on why the UFC didn’t want Stipe Miocic in the interim heavyweight title fight at UFC 295. At UFC 295, Tom Aspinall will battle Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight championship. The fight has been made after Jon Jones was forced to pull out of his scheduled title showdown with Stipe Miocic due to injury.
John McCarthy shares the one area Paddy Pimblett can pose problems for Tony Ferguson
Harry Kettle - September 29, 2023
MMA analyst John McCarthy has given his thoughts on the upcoming match-up between Paddy Pimblett and Tony Ferguson. Later this year at UFC 296, Paddy Pimblett will square off against Tony Ferguson. It’s easily the biggest name he’s faced in his mixed martial arts career, but it must be said that fans are divided on this match-up. Some feel as if it’s a great test for both men, whereas others feel like it’s purely being set up with the intention of getting Pimblett a win against a big name.
Not Legal! John McCarthy says Israel Adesanya should have been forced to trim his fingernails at UFC 293
Harry Kettle - September 15, 2023
Former MMA referee John McCarthy believes Israel Adesanya should’ve been forced to trim his fingernails before UFC 293. Last weekend at UFC 293, Israel Adesanya lost the UFC middleweight championship. He was beaten by Sean Strickland in a one-sided unanimous decision, leaving many fans and pundits stunned. It was one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, with many just not being able to fathom that Strickland was able to get the job done.
John McCarthy is not sold on Dana White’s comments regarding a UFC comeback for Ronda Rousey
Susan Cox - August 31, 2023
John McCarthy is not sold on Dana White’s comments regarding a UFC comeback for Ronda Rousey. Ronda Rousey (12-2 MMA) retired from the MMA world all the way back in 2016 after experiencing back to back losses to Holly Holm (15-7 MMA) and Amanda Nunes (23-5 MMA).
John McCarthy explains why he sides with Dana White in Stephen Thompson pay dispute
Susan Cox - August 17, 2023
John McCarthy is explaining why he’s siding with Dana White in the Stephen Thompson pay dispute. It was at UFC 291, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson (17-6 MMA) was set to take on Michel ‘Demolidor’ Pereira (28-11 MMA) in a welterweight bout. Pereira ultimately missed weight by three pounds so their match-up never took place. According to Dana White, the UFC offered Thompson another fight but he declined.
John McCarthy shares the former UFC champion who took “pleasure” in hurting his opponents
Harry Kettle - August 1, 2023
MMA analyst John McCarthy has spoken candidly about the lengths a former UFC heavyweight would go to in order to win. Across his many years in the sport of mixed martial arts, John McCarthy has seen it all. The former referee spent a long time with the UFC as one of their main guys, but now, you can catch him doing analyst work on YouTube and commentary work for Bellator.
John McCarthy shuts down talk of a Ronda Rousey return to the UFC: “Walk away and be a farmer”
Harry Kettle - July 7, 2023
Former UFC referee John McCarthy has dismissed the idea of Ronda Rousey making a sensational return to the UFC. As many fans know, Ronda Rousey built quite a legacy for herself in mixed martial arts. She holds a 12-2 record, and served as the first major female star the UFC had seen. She became a global phenomenon and while she did lose her last two bouts to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, she also had a lot of great moments along the way.
Big John McCarthy takes issue with Saturday’s UFC 289 main card lineup: “Is this pay-per-view quality?”
Susan Cox - June 8, 2023
Big John McCarthy is taking issue with Saturday’s UFC 289 main card lineup. UFC 289 takes place this coming Saturday, June 10th at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
John McCarthy warns Michael Chandler against throwing caution to the wind in UFC fight with Conor McGregor: “It is the dumbest idea ever”
Susan Cox - February 7, 2023
John McCarthy is warning Michael Chandler against throwing caution to the wind in his UFC fight with Conor McGregor. UFC President, Dana White, announced this past Saturday that McGregor (22-6 MMA) and Chandler (23-8 MMA) will be rival coaches and opponents on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter 31 (TUF).
'Big' John McCarthy explains path to victory for Petr Yan against Merab Dvalishvili
Andrew Whitelaw - January 25, 2023
‘Big’ John McCarthy has laid out a gameplan for Petr Yan to beat Merab Dvalishvili when the pair go toe-to-toe in in March. The fight has the potential to be an absolute banger and will serve as the main event for UFC Vegas 71 in what will be the promotion’s inaugural event at the Virgin Hotel in Sin City.
John McCarthy believes current UFC seating arrangement causes issues for judges: “You want better scores, change it”
Harry Kettle - December 15, 2022
John McCarthy believes the UFC seating arrangement is what causes issues for judges when scoring fights for the promotion. Over the course of the last few weeks, months and years, judging has been a big issue in mixed martial arts. Some think the problem is exaggerated whereas others want it to be addressed immediately.
John McCarthy told his son who was a judge for Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon he got it wrong: "I think they got influenced by what the crowd was into”
Cole Shelton - December 12, 2022
John McCarthy believes Jared Gordon should’ve gotten his hand raised at UFC 282. Gordon was facing Paddy Pimblett in the co-main event of UFC 282 in an intriguing lightweight scrap. Many expected the Brit to win and remain undefeated but the fight was much closer than many thought.
John McCarthy shares his thoughts on a possible Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz boxing match: “Too fast, too big; that's not a good fight”
Harry Kettle - November 3, 2022
John McCarthy has given his thoughts on the possibility of Jake Paul taking on Nate Diaz in his next boxing match. Last weekend, Jake Paul beat Anderson Silva to move to 6-0 in his pro boxing career. He did so after dropping ‘The Spider’ in the last round, ultimately proving many critics wrong who thought he’d be overmatched.
John McCarthy shares his prediction for Saturday’s UFC 278 co-main event between Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa: “I'm calling it by stoppage in the third”
Susan Cox - August 19, 2022
John McCarthy is sharing his prediction for Saturday’s UFC 278 co-main event between Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa. UFC 278 takes place tomorrow at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
John McCarthy discusses how a Brock Lesnar vs Fedor Emelianenko super-fight would have played out: “The results would not have made Dana happy”
Harry Kettle - August 5, 2022
John McCarthy has said that he believes Fedor Emelianenko would’ve beaten Brock Lesnar if the two had fought. For many years now fans have talked about great fights that we never quite got the chance to see. Anderson Silva vs Georges St-Pierre is one, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson is another, and one of the other big ones is the heavyweight showdown that never was between Brock Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko.