John McCarthy says Dana White should be kissing his a** for his contribution to MMA

One of the most well-known referees in MMA, “Big” John McCarthy thinks Dana White should recognize his contribution to the sport of MMA.

McCarthy has been refereeing MMA fights since the early days of the sport. He has been officiating UFC fights since the promotion’s 2nd show( UFC 2: No Way Out), all the way back in 1994. Since then, he has refereed some of the biggest fights in sports history, including Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo, the fastest finish in UFC title bout history.

The 57-year old has a wealth of experience, having refereed for multiple organizations including K-1, Strikeforce, Affliction and King Of The Cage.

More recently, he has switched careers and now works as a commentator for Bellator, and appears on his podcast, Weighing In with Josh Thomson. He is also the founder and instructor at COMMAND, a training course for MMA referees and judges.

Most notably, McCarthy has officiated over 1,500 bouts worldwide since his debut at UFC 2 in 1994 and is one of the original authors of the sport’s rules and regulations in the United States.. In fact, he thinks if he hadn’t contributed the sport in such a significant way, it might not even be around today. Because of that, McCarthy feels he deserves some recognition from the UFC president Dana White.

Recently, there have been some questionable calls made by referees that have spelt disaster for MMA bouts. Dana White was angered by referee Mario Yamasaki for giving Kevin Lee an early stoppage win against Michael Chiesa. Then, Yamasaki landed in hot water again, after failing to stop a beating delivered from Valentina Shevchenko to Priscila Cachoeira. This incident resulted in Dana White banning Yamasaki from future UFC events.

John McCarthy has recently talked about incompetent refereeing, taking aim at officiator Kevin MacDonald for his alleged early stoppage in the Ion Cutelaba vs Magomed Ankalaev bout at UFC Norfolk.

“If you’re gonna do a job, do the goddamn job,” McCarthy said. “Quit trying to look cool, quit trying to be a fan, do your freaking job.”

This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 5th March, 2020.