John McCarthy weighs in on the UFC 273 co-main event: “No way in the world you’re gonna tell me that Aljo won that first round”

John McCarthy, 59, a retired referee, is best known for officiating numerous bouts promoted by the UFC. Currently John co-hosts the MMA and combat sports podcast ‘Weighing In’ with Josh Thomson.

McCarthy weighed in on the UFC 273 co-main event between Aljamain Sterling (21-3 MMA) and Petr Yan (16-3 MMA) this past weekend in Jacksonville, Florida. It was Sterling who succeeded in defending his bantamweight belt by defeating Yan with a split decision victory.

In discussing the outcome of the fight, on his ‘Weighing In‘ podcast, McCarthy had this to say:

“There is no way in the world you’re gonna tell me that Aljo (Sterling) won that first round, but I will say, I thought he fought a great fight.”

John McCarthy also shared that Sterling could have done more damage during the match saying:

“I thought it was a smart tactic by Aljamain to stay on the outside, to move continuously, but he didn’t land much. He landed a couple of kicks, not real hard, and he got hit with some heavy shots.”

Following the title bout there has been much controversy concerning the judges decision to award the prize to Sterling. There are fans and media alike who have spoken out about the outcome of the fight, debating whether it should have been Petr Yan awarded the victory.

Even UFC President, Dana White, had this to say at the post fight press conference about the fight being awarded to Sterling:

“I thought that the judges blew that one. I had it 3-2 the other way. I don’t know how you guys scored it. I guess it’s all in how you score that first round.”

Of course Sterling and Yan first fought back in March 2021 at UFC 259, where it was ‘The Funk Master’ who became champion after ‘No Mercy’ was disqualified due to an illegal knee to the head. At that time, prior to the disqualification, many thought Yan had the fight and was well on his way to a victory.

Whether you agree with the judges or not, Sterling has retained the belt. Undoubtably there will be a Sterling vs Yan 3 in the future.

What are your thoughts on John McCarthy’s comments? Do you agree with the outcome of Sterling vs Yan?