John McCarthy News

Adam Martin - November 7, 2019

Veteran MMA referee and Bellator color commentator John McCarthy believes the UFC 244 main event between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal was stopped too soon by the doctor. Speaking on the ‘Weighing In’ podcast, McCarthy was asked by host Josh Thomson what he thought about the controversial doctor stoppage at UFC 244. This is what McCarthy had to say.

Mike Heck - October 21, 2019

Legendary referee John McCarthy is weighing in on “Inhalergate” following the overturning of Greg Hardy’s unanimous decision win at UFC Boston. At Friday night’s event at the TD Garden, Hardy went the distance for the very first time in his MMA career as he picked up a victory over the debuting Ben Sosoli. As interesting as it was to see Hardy get to a third round, one of the biggest stories of the event came between the second and third rounds when Hardy asked and, seemingly, was given permission to use an inhaler on the stool.

Cole Shelton - October 17, 2019

John McCarthy and Ariel Helwani got at each other on social media after the recent 30 for 30 documentary featuring Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell aired. There, McCarthy tweeted at Helwani saying he is wrong for saying Zuffa ran towards regulation. Now, in a long rant on his ‘Weighing In’ show with Josh Thomson, McCarthy gave his side of the story.

Harry Kettle - October 16, 2019

Bellator broadcaster and former referee John McCarthy recently had a heated exchange with ESPN journalist Ariel Helwani on social media. McCarthy and Helwani are both considered to be well-known figures within the world of mixed martial arts and have been for years now, and as such, many fans hold a lot of value in their opinions.

Tom Taylor - March 3, 2019

On Saturday night, on the main card of UFC 235, former ONE Championship and Bellator titleholder Ben Askren finally made his UFC debut, taking on the extremely dangerous Robbie Lawler. Although Askren very nearly found himself on the receiving end of a first-round TKO, he ultimately weathered this early storm from Lawler and submitted the former UFC champion with a bulldog choke later in the round.

Tom Taylor - December 16, 2018

The UFC’s outfitting deal with sports apparel giant Reebok is frequently criticized by fans, fighters, and pundits alike. Not only does this deal deprive fighters of the chance to pursue more lucrative sponsorship deals for themselves, it also deprives them have the chance to dress up during their walkouts and set themselves apart from their peers. Veteran MMA referee John McCarthy is glad this isn’t the reality in Bellator, where he now serves as a cage-side commentator. Speaking during Saturday’s Bellator Hawaii broadcast, as former UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida walked out for his Bellator debut, John McCarthy explained how pleased he was to see Machida walking out in his traditional karate gi rather than Reebok gear.

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2018

Resurgent Brit Tyson Fury put forth a masterful performance in his Saturday night WBC heavyweight title fight with champion Deontay Wilder. Unfortunately, the bout was not without controversy. In the 12th round of the fight — which was ultimately ruled a draw — Tyson Fury was knocked senseless by a crushing Deontay Wilder combination. Miraculously, however, the Brit was able to return to his feet, and in the eyes of many onlookers, went on to outperform Wilder for the remainder of the final round.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2018

https://twitter.com/BrMassami/status/1031350697084649472 Want to see some really bad MMA officiating? Like really, really bad? Watch the video above. This baffling referee disaster occurred at Daredevil Fight 13 inside the Ginasio Duduzao in Bauru, Brazil on Saturday night (h/t Dario Ferrari).

Drake Riggs - June 7, 2018

“The commentators, especially the UFC post-fight or pre-fight people…they’re putting information out that’s not true. And that hurts the fans in understanding what the judges are utilizing to score that round. The problem is this…something happens in a fight and a referee does something and it’s wrong. But Frank [Mir] or whoever or me says, ‘yeah, yeah he’s doing this’. It’s wrong. Once it’s verified by the commentator, well that was the right way of doin’ it.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2018

Last weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s debut in Liverpool, hometown hero Darren Till picked up the biggest win of his career, defeating two-time welterweight title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson by decision. Not everybody, however, agreed with this result. Shortly after the judges’ verdict was read, there was an outpouring of criticism suggesting that Thompson, not Till, should have been awarded the victory.

Tom Taylor - May 14, 2018

On Saturday night, in the main event of the action-packed UFC 224 card in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Raquel Pennington came up short in a women’s bantamweight title fight with champ Amanda Nunes, succumbing to a volley of fifth-round strikes. Unfortunately, Pennington’s title bid was also steeped in controversy, as her corner seemed to force her of the stool after she told them she was “done” between the fourth and fifth rounds. In the wake of UFC 224, fans, pundits and Pennington’s fellow fighters have been divided on whether or not her corner made the right call. Some sympathize with her corner, while others feels they did her a major disservice by encouraging her to return to action in the fifth.

Tom Taylor - April 23, 2018

On the undercard of Saturday night’s exciting UFC Atlantic City card, Merab Dvalishvili and hist short-notice replacement opponent Rick Simon engaged in an exciting, three-round war. Unfortunately, the end of this contest was shadowed in controversy. As the seconds wore off the clock, Simon, who seemed to be down two rounds, locked up a mounted guillotine. Though the choke looked deep, Dvalishvili showed incredible toughness, refusing to tap and frantically flailing his legs in what looked like an effort to show the referee he was still conscious.

Tom Taylor - March 6, 2018

Last weekend, on the undercard of UFC 222, former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard made his latest return to the UFC’s Octagon, this time opposite TUF veteran CB Dollaway. Regrettably, this fight ended in controversy, as Lombard put Dollaway down with a volley of punches that occurred split seconds after the first round ended. He was disqualified for this perceived foul, which in turn meant a bizarre and surely undesirable DQ win for Dollaway.

Tom Taylor - January 10, 2018

Yesterday afternoon, we learned that veteran MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy had joined the Bellator MMA family as a member of the promotion’s broadcast team. Initially, it sounded as though McCarthy’s broadcast duties signalled the end of his career as a referee, but apparently that’s not the case. He still plans to work as an officiator in smaller shows. “Can I go and referee? Yes, I can go and referee,” McCarthy told MMA Fighting. “If I want to go and referee something internationally, I can do it. I can do small shows here if I want. I’ll do charity events and things like that. I’m not gonna say, ‘Oh, I’m retired.’ I’m not retired. At this moment, I’m just taking on something else, so that’s gonna go on the back burner. All of my attention is gonna go toward being the best color commentator I can be for Bellator.”

Russell Sai - January 9, 2018

Earlier this month, news surfaced that Bellator MMA had parted ways with long-time color commentator Jimmy Smith. They’ve already filled the void Smith left behind, and with a pretty surprising name: Big John McCarthy, legendary mixed martial arts referee. The promotion announced this interesting addition to their broadcast team in a Tuesday afternoon press release. McCarthy will split his color commentator duties with current Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix contestant Chael Sonnen, while Mauro Ranallo and Mike Goldberg will share play-by-play duties.

Tom Taylor - July 31, 2017

Last Saturday, Daniel Cormier’s reign as UFC light heavyweight champion came to a crashing halt, as he was put down by a third-round head-kick dealt by his rival Jon Jones. Some 24 hours later, Cormier released a statement on his Instagram account, during which he congratulated Jones, and apologized to referee John McCarthy for initially protesting the stoppage. First off, thank you all for the kind words. I have felt the support. Congratulations to Jon Jones and his team. They did a phenomenal job and got the victory. Also, to Big John McCarthy, I would like to apologize for acting up with you. I am thankful for the time you gave me to try and defend myself and stay in the fight. You are the best in the business for a reason. I also wanna thank my team and my coaches. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. Your time and energy is greatly appreciated. You guys did a wonderful job, I was ready. It’s a fist fight and things happen. Dana White and the @ufc, thank you for being the premiere organization in all of MMA. Again, congrats to Team Jones and JacksonWink. Love you all. I’ll see you soon. DC 📷@layziethesavage

Tom Taylor - May 1, 2017

When the UFC travels across the united states – and further afield – the rules its athletes compete under can change depending on the rules of the athletic commission that is overseeing the fight. According to veteran referee Big John McCarthy, this is a real problem, and at the end of the day, an inconsistency that is simply not fair to the fighters. McCarthy explained this feeling on a recent episode of MMA Junkie Radio, using the rules of the NFL for context.

Russell Ess - January 25, 2017

https://youtu.be/lzGu5VrJN34 Tito Ortiz left his gloves in the cage following his first round submission over Chael Sonnen in the main event at Bellator 170 over the weekend.