Perhaps the most recognized and respected referee in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), “Big” John McCarthy, will announce his retirement today, according to Yahoo!Sports.com.
Earlier this week The Fight Network distributed an advisory that “big” news would be announced tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. ET regarding the future of “Big” John and his partnership with North America’s only all-combat sports channel.
It appears that his role as an analyst for The Fight Network is set to increase and his days as an official will come to and end after The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 Finale this weekend on December 8.
McCarthy has been inside the Octagon for some of the most high-profile events in the history of the UFC. In fact, he’s officiated more than 500 MMA bouts and has worked every UFC card since UFC 2 in 1994 sans UFC 78: “Validation” last month in Newark, N.J.
McCarthy — who has been a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department since 1985 — is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt who also operates his own gym in Valencia, Calif., called Big John McCarthy’s Ultimate Training Academy.
We’ll update this post tomorrow with more details after the conference call. For more background on McCarthy check out his official Web site right here.
(Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “Lucas” for the assist.)
December 6th, 2007
51 Comments »
Sad Sad news
wow..starting from UFC 2, he could have made it till UFC 100, now the best in business is leaving, kinda sucks
this is bull shit!!!!! WAIT TILL UFC 102 then retir…have 100 ufc events under your belt.. thats a legend of the sport if you could accomplish that
I sent this to u…
Other UFC refs are not so good. We have one ref who looks like lex luther and another one who looks like predator
DUDE THAT FUCKIN SUX!!! Hell he sometimes got me more pumped for a fight then the guys that were fighting. “Are you ready??..GET BACK IN YOUR CORNER…GET BACK!!..ARE you ready??..Are you ready?? LETS GET IT ON!!!
Someone needs to step up and get extra buck when about to start a fight. I cant stand these other refs..like MAzzagatii’s and his high pitched pussy sounding voice..hers like “are you ready? are you ready? cmon lets go..fight..oh yeah. LMAO!!
why retire Mills Lane didnt retire from being a boxing ref until he was about 70(he didnt have to tackle people like John does but still), John is still pretty young and he doesnt have to tackle the fighters he can do what Herb or Mario does and thats just steppin it waving your hands. if i was John i wouldnt leave for a while. i hope he doesnt think he can pull a Randy a want to come back in a year when he bored!!!
man. He’s the face of mma. He cant leave. I want him there till hes 70.
Yve Leving will be the next big thing.. he is the 2nd best ref.. nogera vs herring provved us all that he new what he was doing … and the marcus davis fight as well.. he cam back to win.. (sorry for spellin on yves laving..bald french canadian ref)
UFC Hall of Fame please.
Best ref in the game, always protected the fighters, always let ‘em fight, quick with the warnings, slow to take a point off.
Did it just right, I’ll miss him.
we’re gona miss you big john!!!, you are a legend and the “bigest” trooper I ever saw.
[quote comment=”227484″]I sent this to u…
Other UFC refs are not so good. We have one ref who looks like lex luther and another one who looks like predator[/quote]
LMFAO!!!
Dude, so true!
This stinks. Big John will be missed…
Why couldn’t Herb Dean retire instead of John? I can’t think of an instance of John ever making a bad stoppage.
ufc2 - to now. In 100 ufc events he’s been in 98. THanks big john..for keeping mma safe..fun..and exciting..thanks for the memories.
It wouldn’t be so bad that he was leaving, if the other refs weren’t so bad.
Easily the best ref around.
SPIKE TV should air an episode all about Big john and his adventure in the sport of MMA.
i wouldnt be suprised if big john has more loot than the top 10 guys in ufc - hes got a shit load going for him! Go on that man!
[quote comment=”227528″]It wouldn’t be so bad that he was leaving, if the other refs weren’t so bad.
Easily the best ref around.[/quote]
Yves Lavigne isn’t too bad. Lavigne has done a great job so far. Mazagatti hasn’t made any stupid stoppages that I can think of.
[quote comment=”227540″][quote comment=”227528″]It wouldn’t be so bad that he was leaving, if the other refs weren’t so bad.
Easily the best ref around.[/quote]
Yves Lavigne isn’t too bad. Lavigne has done a great job so far. Mazagatti hasn’t made any stupid stoppages that I can think of.[/quote]
Big John will be missed. I wonder if his good friend Randy Couture had anything to do with this? As long as Herb Dean doesn’t ref any of the big fights, everything will be fine with Steve Mazzaggatti, Yves Lavigne, and Mario Yamasaki. I wonder if the UFC will sign that gigantic bald ref from New Jersey? I think it is better having a BIG referee for the HW fights, incase they REALLY need to step in.
He is directly responsible for the low number of serious injuries in the UFC. No other ref is as fast at putting himself in between a defenseless fighter and a punch. I hope Dana understands that a sport like MMA needs a big guy stopping the fights.
He’s probably retiring because he failed to call Speer on the eye gouging.
is he retiring to join M-1 Global?
That sucks. UFC better put together some serious tributes to Big John and his legacy. I remember watching earlier UFCs with my brother. Big John has always been the man. That sucks. He should have stuck around for at least the UFC New Year’s Eve show; it’s the biggest show of the year.
I agree with the others; Yves Levigne is probably the best ref out there now. And then Yamasaki.
Mario Yamasaki for clarification…
Too bad he’s my favorite ref, sucks.
This is bad news for the UFC and MMA in general. He did alot more for the sport than people may relize. Like someone allready said he has played a huge part in the safety and possibly even the no death argument that has really helped the sport get sanctioned.
[quote comment=”227499″]UFC Hall of Fame please.
Best ref in the game, always protected the fighters, always let ‘em fight, quick with the warnings, slow to take a point off.
Did it just right, I’ll miss him.[/quote]
He is an irreplaceable referee. He will surely be missed
RANdy then this something is up with the ufc….it’s always important when looking at any buisness to see how well they retain their personel, especially if they are great at the work they do like Big John is.
AND He’s leaving to go somewhere else i want to get hd net or wherever BJ goes
But we all know how dana is:
DANA:
“Big john, you know you the best f-ing ref in the buisness, even goldberg says so, so your just gonna walk away from all this?,
Well i can’t say ur not gonna get paid more money elsewhere using more of your f-ing stupid brain somewhere else but your making the biggest f-ing mistake of your life”
BJ: But you won’t give me more money, and YES I WANNA BE A F-ing REFEREE
DANA: I’m in the contracting buisness and your too popular and i can’t pay you the ammount you want, i gotta get new refs in ones like Herb Dean and smaller guys like my mazagatti drives 185, mma is going smaller and faster not BIG anymore, you understand JOHN?
“Best ref in the game, always protected the fighters, always let “em fight, quick with the warnings, slow to take a point off”
I agree McCarthy was a very good ref. I hope whoever steps up as the new number 1 ref (lol) will be someone who is quick with warnings, especially shots to the back of the head- I can’t remember the last time I saw a fighter withhold a strike because only the back of the head was an available target. Also, I have the opposite of Joe Rogan’s opinion that fights should not be broken up. I think in a real fight, if two guys are just holding on to each other any spectators would want to break it up and I see no point, when there is only 15 minutes to fight, of letting the fight go stale. I think if Joe Rogan and others want to make the fights more realistic, the first thing they should do is get rid of the rounds. “Saved by the bell” pisses me off a lot more than “saved by temporary stalemate”.
To sum this up, I want refs who break up the fights quickly when nothing is happening, who give warnings the first time a rule is broken, and deduct a point if it is broken again. It’s way too easy to lay on a guy or bash him in the back of the head- and there’s no excuse for that in the UFC.
That sucks, John is by far my favorite. I have always felt he uses the best judgement out of all the refs. I don’t think I have ever had a big complaint on how he called the stoppage of any fight.
[quote comment=”227511″]Why couldn’t Herb Dean retire instead of John? I can’t think of an instance of John ever making a bad stoppage.[/quote]
I honestly can’t remember an instance where Big John made a noticeable mistake which is just amazing when the decisions required by the job must be made in split seconds. Incredible. Big John will be missed in the UFC.
A true legend!
“Big” John McCarthy, a true Legend. I know when I watch a fight in the UFC this is the man that I want to see reffing it! He is undeniably the best out there!
Too bad he wouldn’t stick around to ref Liddell vs Silva.
Mazagatti is good. Lavigne is pretty good. I though he should have stopped Big Nog that one time, but whatever.
Big John leaving is sad news, but fortunately there are other good refs out there to step it up. Now, what would be awful news is if Bruce Buffer announces his retirement…can you imagine a UFC event now without that voice??
[quote comment=”227672″][quote comment=”227511″]Why couldn’t Herb Dean retire instead of John? I can’t think of an instance of John ever making a bad stoppage.[/quote]
I honestly can’t remember an instance where Big John made a noticeable mistake which is just amazing when the decisions required by the job must be made in split seconds. Incredible. Big John will be missed in the UFC.[/quote]
Yes I can..UFC Mw title match between Murilo Bustamante and Matt Linland..1st round Murilo traps and pulls Matt into a arm bar..extends..it looked like Matt tapped..so that Big John tells Murilo to let go..to then Matt say he didn’t tap which is debatable..in that instant John made a mistake..which could of cost Murilo the belt..but in the seconf round he dropped Matt with a short right hand..then choked him with no doubt that Matt tapped the second time. John even said to Murilo at the time it was his mistake..that is the only time I can say he made a bad call..but big john..is big john..was saved the the day in ufc 2..after the worst ref in ufc history was that brazilian dude at ufc1.
[quote post=”4131″]Too bad he wouldn’t stick around to ref Liddell vs Silva[/quote]
love big john, had a chance to talk with him at the TUF 4 Finale last year. i asked him for betting advice, he said ALWAYS bet the underdog. conveniently, this meeting happened to take place just before the rash of upsets that the ufc experienced early this year.
i love that man
Dammit, I used to pump up my recruits when I was an instructor by saying “are you ready, LET’S GET IT ON”, no BS, no “come on guys”, just straight up FIGHT! I remember the early UFC’s when there would be a 200 even a 400lb weight difference and Big John handled it. Like Mills Lane, he may have his own reality show, haha..Will be missed, I wish he could at least finish off in UFC 79.
I wonder who will now referee the main-events. I hope it’s not Herb Dean. He stops matches way too fast. Although no one can fill “Big John’s”shoes, I like the way Mario Yamasaki officiates. He let’s the fighters finish the fight, and he’s also a veteran refereee inside of the octagon.
Quick Question: Which ref says this right before the bell of Round 1 - “You ready? You ready? Rock ‘n Roll!!!!”
Big John sucks.Who gives a crap about a ref.
JUST KIDDING !
I always got pumped before a big fight to hear ” Let’s get IT ON” !!!
LEGEND!! why not get tyson to replace him he was good in cage rage reffing!! haha lol
he’s called alot of fights too early but I’ll miss his catch phrase.
They’ll get the big dude from the IFL.
[quote comment=”227540″][quote comment=”227528″]It wouldn’t be so bad that he was leaving, if the other refs weren’t so bad.
Easily the best ref around.[/quote]
Yves Lavigne isn’t too bad. Lavigne has done a great job so far. Mazagatti hasn’t made any stupid stoppages that I can think of.[/quote]
mazzagati i remember he’s done a stupid stoppage,a fews weeks in IFL, when mike whtihead is in the back mount against vernon white,& whitehead pounding vernon,then he said to steve mazzagati that vernon is tapping out,then mazzagati listen to him & stop the fight even though vernon is not really tapping out,even if you look at slomo reply,you will not see vernon tapping out.
but thats okey,nothing is perfect,sometimes even big john has done slightly mistakes,do you remember way back in UFC japan on 1997 when kazushi sakuraba fought marcus silvera?
but that dont take away the credit,
i will miss big john
“LETS GET IT ON!”
We’re gonna miss ya, Big John! All the best to ya.
Dang this sucks!! the UFC needs to find or develop another referee with his type of moxy! He just made the fights seem more important when he was officiating
There is no ref worst than Herb Dean…..
a sad sad day for mma fans , now we have to worry about the stupid judges scoring random fights and the only secure thing was the main events with John Mcarthy being ref, now we have to worry about the ref being retarded as well, damn you 2007!!!!!!! this year has sucked, first gsp losses, then chuck losses, then randy retires, then chuck losses, then franklin losses, then first death in mma, now this. i sure hope Huerta, gsp, liddell win to close of the year good oh also the sandman.
I dont have a problem with the other refs like everyone else seems to, but im still upset about Big John leaving. I think he should retire as a ref and take a shot at the HW title, that would be sweet.
doesn’t say anything on his website