John McCarthy News

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2019

On Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 237, Jessica Andrade claimed the UFC flyweight title by knocking out the champion Rose Namajunas with a brutal slam. Unfortunately, the knockout generated some controversy, as some fans felt the slam was illegal. Speaking on Twitter in the wake of UFC 237, veteran MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy gave his take on this dramatic knockout victory from Jessica Andrade. He did his best to dispel any controversy, assuring the new champ’s victory was absolutely clean.

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 - June 25, 2018

Veteran referee “Big” John McCarthy, who now works as a commentator for Bellator MMA, is adamant that there are plenty of world-class fighters outside of the UFC roster. McCarthy got into it with fans on Twitter, praising the depth of the Bellator roster, and assuring that the UFC was not the only home for top talent in MMA. It began when McCarthy applauded the Bellator team for signing former UFC champ Lyoto Machida.

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.

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 - March 7, 2018

Veteran MMA referee and current Bellator commentator “Big” John McCarthy is becoming one of the most respected voices in MMA. As such, his opinions on the sport’s hot-button issues are always interesting to hear. On a recent episode of MMAJunkie Radio, the veteran referee tackled the issue of former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’s unfortunate brush with USADA. In McCarthy’s opinion, Jones probably didn’t intentionally take a performance enhancing drug, but might be a little careless when it comes to what he puts in his body.

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 - June 26, 2017

Last night, in the main event of the UFC’s anticipated trip to Oklahoma City, Michael Chiesa lost by submission to “The MoTown Phenom” Kevin Lee. The unfortunate thing is that, while Lee’s rear-naked choke was deep, Chiesa never actually tapped out or lost consciousness. Instead, referee Mario Yamasaki misread the situation, and stopped the fight early. Since then, Yamasaki has received a good deal of criticism, as everyone from Chiesa to UFC President Dana White has shared their distaste for his officiating.

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.

Russell Ess - January 25, 2017

The main event of Bellator 170 had Chael Sonnen coming out of retirement to take on Tito Ortiz for “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’s” last fight of his career. It was a fairytale ending for Ortiz, as the UFC Hall of Fame legend and pioneer of the sport finished Sonnen in the first round with a rear-naked choke submission that forced Sonnen to tap.

Chris Taylor - September 25, 2016

Veteran UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson made headlines yesterday evening in Brazil for all the wrong reasons.

Chris Taylor - September 25, 2016

UFC heavyweight veteran Roy “Big Country” Nelson scored knockout number 14 of his storied mixed martial arts career at last night’s UFC Fight Night 95 event in Brazil. Nelson caught his opponent, former UFC heavyweight title challenger Antonio Silva, with a massive uppercut late in round two that sent “Bigfoot” crashing to the canvas. Roy quickly followed Silva to the floor where he unleashed some heavy ground and pound strikes which eventually prompted referee John McCarthy to step in and stop the bout.