BIG JOHN MCCARTHY: THE BEST REFEREE IN THE WORLD OF MMA

             I have been a UFC fan ever since UFC 1 in 1993, when “NHB” (No Holds Barred) was in its infancy and it was marketed back then as a form of human cockfighting, that trumpeted “THERE ARE NO RULES!!” I remember bare knuckle punches to the head and face, nasty gashes from deliberate head butts, foot stomps, kicking a downed  opponent  to the face or head, and all sorts of craziness in the early days. The UFC has gone from a spectacle of bloody bare-knuckle brawls with no weight or time limit, into the hugely popular sanctioned mixed martial art sport it is today, with time limits, weight classes and rules. 
          I myself thought I might become a mixed martial artist in 1998 as I was certainly "qualified" for hitting a heavy bag: I sparred a little bit one time with a guy with MMA experience, thinking my incredible punching power would be feared all across the world like Ivan Drago. I connected with a few punches, one to the body that made him buckle over, and one to his face that made him wince in pain,  and saw my future as a UFC champion! Yes!!!! Another Denver Tank Murdock I was!!!  Total KO POWER!!!! After about 77 seconds of punching, I became tired and sweaty as hell and all I wanted to do was put my hands on my knees and rest...I couldn't keep my hands up as the 8 ounce gloves started feeling like 80 pounds of concrete and  I started throwing these slow, wild, lazy unskilled round house punches like a drunk that missed by two feet, and my footwork was like I was stepping in post holes due to my fatigue. The headgear was hot and askew from sweat and the next thing I heard was this big THUD, which was my face and nose receiving a punch that made my eyes water and head ring like the Liberty Bell. I tried to recover and then next thing I felt was like somebody hit me with a Louisville Slugger in the thigh. That was called a kick. It did not feel good. I then received another punch to the side of the face and ear, and then another kick, and it was at that moment my fun idea of becoming a UFC heavyweight superstar was becoming not so fun. I decided to retire immediately, and have been a superb spectator ever since my less than stellar 77 seconds of being a mixed martial artist. 

              I love the UFC and am delighted it has become the biggest and hottest sport in the world and that these great athletes are getting the recognition they deserve as some are now household names. But at times, I miss the good old days of the UFC without all the hoopla, sponsors and popularity it has today. As great a job as Dana White has done since he bought it from SEG, and as great a job as Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg do calling the fights today, I sometimes miss the only rules being no eye gouging or fish hooking, the tournament style of winner take all, and the commentary of  Bruce Beck and the late Jeff Blatnick. Their commentary reflected what they saw, often new skills in the cage that are commonplace today but back then, there were literally two kinds of fighters, Strikers and Grapplers.  I have such admiration and respect for all those warriors who paved the way for what the UFC is today: NHB/ MMA fighters like Pat Miletich, Igor Vovchanchyn, Nick Nutter, Allan Goes, Wallid Ishmail, Enson Inoue, Ricardo Morais, Kazushi Sakuraba, Gilbert Ivel, Vernon White, Fedor Emelianenko and Cro-Cop outside the UFC in different organizations like PRIDE and Vale Tudo, and UFC pioneers inside the UFC Octagon like Ken Shamrock, Pat Smith, Keith Hackney, Paul Varelans, Maurice Smith, Royce Gracie, Gary Goodridge, Dan Severn, Don Frye, Gold Medalist wrestler Mark Schultz, Marco Ruas, Tank Abbott, Scott Ferrozzo, ( Tank and Ferrozzo at UFC 11 was an absolute war and  is one of my fave early fights: 15 minutes of pure brawling which Ferrozzo won a decision) Kimo Leopoldo, Jerry Bohlander, Guy Metzgar, Brian Johnston, Oleg Taktarov were the "Old Guard" of the UFC. Later on, fighters like Randy Couture, Pedro Rizzo, Frank Shamrock, Mark Kerr, Mark Coleman, Bas Rutten, Vanderlei Silva, Kevin Randleman, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Vitor Belfort, and Dan Henderson also helped pave the way and have since retired. (Belfort and Henderson, who made their first appearance at UFC 12 and UFC 17 respectively,  are the only two active fighters from those early days to still step in the cage.)

              Back in the beginning, there were all these crazy names for the styles of fighting such as “Pit Fighting,” "Trapfighting," "Shootfighting" and my all time favorite, "SAFTA" (Scientifically Aggressive Fighting Technology of America.) Basically, most people’s knowledge of Martial Arts prior to UFC 1 were from badly dubbed late night Kung Fu movies or the Karate Kid or Bloodsport.  That first UFC saw giant sumo wrestlers, guys with gis, and even one guy wearing one boxing glove on his hand and bare knuckles on the other. It was unknown mayhem to see what martial art was the baddest on the planet, and NOBODY expected this tiny guy from Brazil in a gi named Royce Gracie to win it all. As far as I am concerned, every man that walked into that cage that night had brass balls as do all fighters who step in the Octagon. But the guys in that first UFC had the biggest balls of all as Bon Scott once said: Maybe a guy COULD pull someone’s heart out of their chest in a fight and show it to them!

               One man who has seen it all from the earliest days and a man I respect the most in the UFC is the incomparable referee, Big John McCarthy, who made HIS debut way back at UFC 2.  In boxing, I always loved the tiny Mills Lane, as he was the very best referee there was in the sport. He was a district judge as a profession and didn’t take any shit from any of the fighters. (I remember during the Holyfield/Tyson fight, Iron Mike told Mills Lane that his bite was a “punch” and you could clearly hear Mills Lane say “bullshit!!!.”)  He always stopped fights at the perfect time and you never had to worry about a fight being stopped early or too late.

               Big John McCarthy has those same great qualities Mr. Lane did but he is hardly tiny, and in fact looks like he could strap on the gloves himself as BJM is an intimidating presence in the cage himself and also doesn’t take any shit either.  Along with Big John’s trademark “LET’S GET IT ON!!!,” he has always done a stellar job of being a UFC referee and has always looked out for the fighters and their safety. His extensive experience has allowed fighters to continue fighting when a lot of referees would have stopped it prematurely, nor does he ever let a fight go on too long if a fighter is not intelligently defending himself. A boxing referee basically has to separate the fighters from holding and has to count them out when they go down. But Big John has to make split second decisions in MMA that are not easy to see: He has to make sure a fighter is not choked out or submitted and unable to tap out, he has to tell whether a fighter is knocked out or not, and when to separate them or not and can tell instantly if a fighter is holding the cage, delivering an illegal strike, etc. Big John misses NOTHING inside the cage and has made some great calls like these over the years when it was not obvious and has seen first hand some crazy moments. The craziest I remember was when Tank Abbott tried to literally throw Cal Worsham out of the cage back at UFC's Ultimate Ultimate in 1996.  Big John had to make decisions back then when there WERE no rules or guidelines to follow and had to make a decision to stop a fight on or let it continue just on his own common sense. He is a pioneer himself and a legend himself and still is.

                 Big John McCarthy has been a referee since the earliest days of the UFC and is still the best referee in the business. He has given the sport credibility, class and as a fan, he is an icon of the sport of MMA and I know that he is respected by all the fighters.

                 If you have not read his autobiography,"Let's Get It On " it is a MUST read for all fans of MMA. Not only is it interesting to read about Big John’s life as a former power lifter and member of the LAPD, but gives the reader a fascinating inside view of what it is like to be a referee in the UFC. He talks about all of the many changes from it being a back room spectacle on a shoe-string budget at rented halls, to the sold-out arena filled global sport it is today. There are also some great tales of humor as well  and it is an excellent book from a man who literally has had the closest view and best "seat"  in the house to all the UFC fights.

                The UFC and MMA in general is fortunate to have a man like Big John McCarthy as a referee and his awesome career is greatly appreciated by all his fans and especially an old school fan like myself. Big John, thank you sir for being a great ambassador and a class act to the sport of MMA all these years and look forward to your yelling “LET’S GET IT ON” in the near future.