Chris Fries and The JDH of Tagg Radio’s The Lights Out Show interviewed former UFC referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy on their last show. Here’s some snips from the interview:
ON WHY HE QUIT REFEREEING:
“I quit refereeing because I was disappointed in some of the things that were happening in the sport.â€
ON WHETHER HE WILL MAKE A REFEREEING COMEBACK:
“I’ve been offered a lot of chances to come back. I haven’t taken them yet, but yeah, eventually I’ll come back to refereeing because I love it.â€
ON IF CB DOLLAWAY TAPPED OUT:
“CB tapped. Herb (Dean) did the right thing in stopping that fight. Amir has caught him twice, so he’s got something to go work on.â€
‘Big’ John also talks about a time when he blew a call in a huge MMA fight. McCarthy also expresses his frustration in the fact that there are no ramifications for BAD refereeing, and about a time when he got caught in the middle of two fighters and had to mount a fighter in the process. That and so much more in this jam-packed interview.
To hear this interview, tune into The Lights Out Show on the Tagg Radio Network at www.TaggRadio.com. New shows released every Tuesday and Thursday 8e/5p. This show, now archived, can be heard anytime at www.thelightsoutshow.com, www.iTunes.com, www.myspace.com/thelightsoutshow.
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Who cares….this guys a referee. I get sick of it when in the uk football refs think they are some kind a celebraties because they officiate superstars every week & think the crowds turn up to see them. Officiate and shut up John !!!
jpm,
Refs have a huge part in any sport. Big John, by far, is the best ref in the MMA world. If there is a big fight, I would rather see Big John there than anyone else.
I agree with you FixXeR
big john is the mills lane of mma. they need him back, especially with all of the bs stoppages lately!
Gotta love Big John !
Did the UFC even do anything for him when he left ? I know they mentionned him once during his last night but they could have done something for him ……….
By the sounds of it, he was another guy not on good terms with the UFC so i guess thats why ………….
FixXeR is absolutely correct on this. McCarthy was/is the best MMA ref alive today and will hopefully make a comeback that has nothing to do with money.
His WAMMA ties are good and I hope they eventually get the UFC to participate. Dana has his head so far up his own ass that he thinks UFC IS MMA. Yes, this WAS true. Someday people will wake up and realize that this hurts the sport and he must change it to do anything about it.
Just remember…Kleenex became Tissue. Xerox machines became Copier Machines. People call it Pro Wrestling not WWE. UFC became MMA… and it all benefits the small shows and that’s where the true heart of MMA is.
Agree 100% Dannyboy !
WHAT IS IF BIG JOHN REFERING TO WHEN HE SAID HE WAS DISSAPOINTED WITH SOME STUFF THATS HAPPENING IN MMA?
yeah big john is a good ref but he made a HUGE BS call before
Carlos Newton vs Matt Hughes was the shittest call. matt was asleep and yet he still won, cheap fight.
I think Herb is just as good as a ref, Big J has a better resume but Herb makes just as good calls
Big John is an icon, but he was always a little too slow in
stepping in to help a defenseless fighter. There were too
many times when a fighter would knock out an opponent,
and would then deliver a few more strikes to an unconscious
man before John could step in and stop it. The worst example
was Gary Goodridge’s repeated elbows to a knocked-out,
defenseless opponent while John McCarthy stood and watched.
He never should have been allowed to referee MMA again
after that.
YZfoxRacing ….. I’m pretty sure he’s got the same attitude as Randy Couture and many other fighters, he doesn’t like the fact that UFC is trying to stay separate, not co-promote …..stuff like that….
Reffings a very tough job, the lives of the fighters are in your hands, but at the same time you don’t want to make a bad call either …. i’ve seen Big John react too slow but i’ve also seen him do more damage tackling a fighter to stop a fight then the actual fighters did to themselves lol
Yea that fight should have been a no contest…but he was still conscious..newton was done..if there had to be a winner,it would be hughes….I disagree about bein too slow to help a defenseless fighter….If I had 40grand on the line and I had a fight end early bc of a bad judgement by the ref..I prob wanna shoot somebody…I mean seriously How many times has forest ben pounded and came back and won…lots
mazzaghati is prob the worst ref…he needs to take some pointers from herb and big john
John wasn’t upset with the UFC it had more to do with the Athletic Commissions, like he said in an earlier interview
anybody else think Big John looks like jesse taylor in that pic above ?
I don’t care what John says or thinks anymore. He was so overly bias and anti UFC in his last comments that I feel he is truly another opportunist trying to make more money and fame through the rise of MMA. John has proven to not be very intelligent so he can takes his opinions and shove them up his ass for all I care.
Cole,
John does look like JT….A LOT!!! Perhaps a little “Deliverence??”
i bet he will be back in the mix this summer.
KOuch
I agree, he was way out of line with all that bias b*llshit
Squeel little piggy, yee haa
jmp
ur first comment is spot on!!
either come and ref mma or step up an fight in mma john or keep ur mouth shut.
johnboy
alright mate, hey I don’t know if you agree but i’ve been giving it some thought and I think Bisping rules and he definately dominated hamill in london last year and was a worthy winner.
No one can handle the count
He’s a ref. That’s it. A good one, but still just a ref. But I would have said the sae about Michael Buffer being a ref, and he seems to be doing well. “Big†John McCarthy I hope you do well for yourself. However, you should maybe think of joining up with the IFL before they go under, maybe they can start promoting the refs in addition to the coaches…lol. Sorry, just a bit peeved at the IFL stock price caused in part by trying to make their coaches into stars rather than the fighters. idiocracy.
Oh come on JPM….If this was vice versa you would of thrown a shit fit….hamill won that fight and I think thats possibly the worst decision in ufc history…I would say MMA history but there are alot of fights I can’t account for…be real JPM
I’d like to see the ufc pick up ryan schultz and chris horadecki when the ifl goes down…we could see some badass lightweight fights…Roger Huerta’s only loss came from Ryan Schultz dislocating his jaw…can anyone say hardass?
Cole Miller
Sorry dude, i’m just being mischevious
JMP
your so right bisping killed him haha every1 getiing well wound up ha
Herb Dean is a good ref…
Hammil won
Hope Horedecki goes to the WEC first
yeah hammil did win his last fight, an herb dean does rule good call
i love Big John, the referee, but i cant stand Big John, the biased opinionator… lol
I’d like to see Big John come back! I agree that he is the best!
Can’t blame Herb for stopping that fight. CB Tapped. There no such things as “I didn’t fully committ to that tap”. He will be back in the UFC, but Dana absolutely loves the kid. I just think Cb was over confident. Amir is the real deal though. He is extremely well rounded. He is very skilled at striking, and his just as dangerous on the ground as he is standing. He is even dangerous when he’s on his back.
I’m not sure but i think big john was the corner man for royce gracie @ ufc1.when a guy has been their since day one and has ref’d like 5 or 6 hundred fights,he’s GOING TO blow a fight or two.Tiger’s going to choke on a couple of putt’s.Kobe has,well,game 7 is still a little to fresh to talk about but i think you get the point.THEY ARE HUMAN!! it happens! even to the best!big john is the best at what he does! when i see big john in the ring,it gives that fight a sense of legitamacy.i hope big john does make some good money from the sport,he deserves it.