John McCarthy News

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

Bellator MMA commentator John McCarthy was not impressed by UFC President Dana White’s recent anti-media video. 2020 has been a very successful year for White and the UFC, contrary to the strains and challenges presented by the pandemic. That being said, White’s decision to continue operating throughout this global health crisis has generated plenty of controversy, much of which was covered by the media.

Christopher Taylor - September 20, 2020

Legendary mixed martial arts official John McCarthy called out the UFC for making up “fake stats” about Khamzat Chimaev during last night’s UFC Vegas 11 broadcast. On the main card of yesterday’s event in Nevada, rising star Khamzat Chimaev (9-0 MMA) squared off with seasoned middleweight veteran Gerald Meerschaert. The result was another sensational stoppage win for the undefeated Swedish prospect, as he put Meerschaert out cold with a right hand just 17-seconds into the opening round.

Christopher Taylor - July 26, 2020

John McCarthy has shared his thoughts on referee Herb Dean’s controversial stoppage in Saturday’s Francisco Trinaldo vs. Jai Herbert fight. The lightweight contest, which served as the featured prelim of UFC Fight Island 3, was called off shortly after Trinaldo landed a hard punch that sent Herbert crashing to the canvas.

Adam Martin - July 13, 2020

Legendary MMA official Big John McCarthy believes that Max Holloway was “jobbed” and should have won the UFC featherweight title against Alex Volkanovski. Holloway lost a narrow split decision to Volkanovski in his bid to re-capture the UFC featherweight crown that he lost to his rival Volkanovski back at UFC 245 last December. It appeared that Holloway had done enough to earn the nod, but two of the three judges scored the rematch in Volkanovski’s favor in one of the most controversial decisions of the year. Since then fight happened, UFC president Dana White, Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, and the majority of media members have come out and said they thought Holloway won.

Chris Taylor - June 26, 2020

Jon Jones has opted to take the high road after John McCarthy recently claimed that he was responsible for ‘Bones’ taking home a win at UFC 165. For those who don’t remember, ‘Bones’ had put his light heavyweight title on the line against Alexander Gustafsson in September of 2013. The result was arguably the greatest fight in the history of the light heavyweight division. After twenty-five minutes of heart-pounding action, Jon Jones was awarded the unanimous decision victory from the judges in attendance.

Christopher Taylor - June 25, 2020

Veteran mixed martial arts referee John McCarthy claims Jon Jones would have lost his world title at UFC 165 if it were not for him. Jones (26-1 MMA) squared off with Alexander Gustafsson for the first time at the September 2013 pay-per-view event in Toronto, which resulted in arguably the greatest light heavyweight contest in mixed martial arts history.

Adam Martin - May 26, 2020

Veteran MMA official Big John McCarthy explained why the UFC prefers to use a smaller cage whenever possible, saying it creates more action. The UFC typically uses a 30-foot cage at its big pay-per-views and big ESPN events at arenas but tends to use a 25-foot cage for its Fight Night cards. It also used the smaller cage on The Ultimate Fighter and it uses the 25-foot-cage at the new UFC Apex for the Contender Series and the Fight Night events taking place there in the next two months.

Tom Taylor - May 5, 2020

Veteran MMA referee turned Bellator commentator John McCarthy believes the UFC’s second stab at promoting UFC 249 will be a success. UFC 249 was originally expected to go down in Las Vegas on April 18. As the coronavirus crisis took hold, however, the card was briefly relocated to the Tachi Palace Casino on the same date, and ultimately canceled altogether.

Natasha Hooper - April 8, 2020

MMA judges are refining their skills with the help of referee Big John McCarthy, as they rejudge the controversial UFC 247 Jones vs Reyes fight. Judges competency is a common cause of contention in the evergrowing sport. MMA professionals such as Joe Rogan and Dominick Cruz have slammed judges for inaccurate point-scoring. During UFC 247 in February 2020, Rogan accused one of the judges of not watching, and blasted their scorecards for the closely contested Jon Jones vs Dominick Reyes bout. Jones claimed the decision victory, but UFC president Dana White revealed that he scored the UFC 247 main event in favor of Reyes.

Adam Martin - March 30, 2020

Big John McCarthy said that he guarantees Jon Jones will serve jail for his recent DWI arrest and called the light heavyweight champion “an absolute loser.” The long-time MMA official was a police officer in Los Angeles before he became the most important referee in mixed martial arts history. On the latest edition of the “Weighing In” podcast, McCarthy lashed out at Jones, saying that he guarantees he will go to jail after his recent arrest for a DWI and negligent use of a firearm. He went so far as to call Jones a loser.

Harry Kettle - March 30, 2020

Veteran referee John McCarthy has given fans his thoughts on the recent arrest of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. The incident involving Jones in Albuquerque has been discussed to death by the mixed martial arts community, with the general consensus being that “Bones” probably needs to get some help before things continue to escalate.

Natasha Hooper - March 25, 2020

With the looming threat of Coronavirus causing everybody to isolate themselves, BJPENN.com has curated a list of the top MMA podcasts for you to listen to (in no particular order). Now, you can fill your brain with an unlimited stream of MMA information and keep boredom at bay.

Adam Martin - March 9, 2020

Bellator commentator and MMA official John McCarthy believes that there should have been a 10-10 round scored in the Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero title fight at UFC 248. Adesanya won a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards to retain the UFC middleweight title in an undeniable stinker of a fight. Neither man seemed to be aggressive in the fight and it just plodded on for 25 minutes. Adesanya won the decision and gets to retain his belt, but it was not particularly impressive. Still, McCarthy agrees with Adesanya earning the decision.

Adam Martin - March 9, 2020

Bellator commentator and veteran MMA official Big John McCarthy has share his scorecard for the UFC 248 co-main event between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Zhang and Jedrzejczyk put on an instant classic on Saturday night, going the full five-round distance against each other in an all-out war. Zhang won the fight by split decision, but Jedrzejczyk saw her stock rise by putting on an incredible performance even despite losing. McCarthy, who knows a thing or two about fighting, was asked by host Josh Thomson on the “Weighing In” podcast what he thought about the fight, and he praised both women for their performances.

Natasha Hooper - March 5, 2020

Former referee Big John McCarthy believes Dana White owes him a thank you — maybe even some butt-kissing. McCarthy has been instrumental in overseeing MMA fights since the sport’s early days. He made his officiating debut in the UFC at the promotion’s second show, all the way back 1994. Since then, he has gone on to referee iconic bouts including Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo, the shortest title bout in UFC history.

Natasha Hooper - March 2, 2020

Referee Big John McCarthy has re-launched his COMMAND Course in hopes of improving MMA refereeing and nurturing the next generation of talent. Though he is now retired from officiating, John McCarthy is widely regarded as one of the best referees in MMA. Industry experts including Joe Rogan have praised his aptitude as a ref and his dedication to the sport.

Christopher Taylor - February 17, 2020

Referee John McCarthy believes there is just “something completely different” about Diego Sanchez following last weekend’s UFC event in Rio Rancho. The UFC legend, Sanchez, picked up a disqualification victory over Michel Pereira in front of a home crowd in New Mexico Saturday night.

Adam Martin - February 11, 2020

Bellator commentator and veteran MMA official Big John McCarthy trashed the judging at UFC 247, saying the judges did a poor job scoring the fights. The judges were involved in a number of controversial decisions at UFC 247 which has re-ignited the debate about how to score fights in MMA and whether or not the sport needs open scoring. Among the controversial decisions were the main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes, the women’s flyweight bout between Lauren Murphy and Andrea Lee, and a bantamweight bout on the preliminary card between Andre Ewell and Jonathan Martinez.