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John McCarthy Suggests Improvement To UFC Broadcasts: ‘I’m Being Honest…’

“Big” John McCarthy didn’t just help write the Unified Rules of MMA, he knows them like the back of his hand. The veteran referee turned commentator has been using his expertise when it comes to the rules of the sport to assist on the PFL’s broadcasts since the promotion acquired Bellator last year. McCarthy is […]

McCarthy is often utilized as a rules analyst who will chime in on the broadcast to explain what is happening in certain scenarios which is no different to what happens in other sports. His current contract with the PFL has recently expired and though he does not intend on going back to the days where he would be constantly flying from A to B, he does think that the MMA leader could benefit from his services.

“Big” John spoke in a recent interview with MMA Junkie about how the UFC would benefit from having a rules analyst for their broadcasts even if it’s not necessarily him in that role. He explained why this would be beneficial as an added layer of detail which the commentators aren’t currently providing.

“Oh, absolutely,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know if the UFC would want me, but yeah, I could do it with the UFC. And I’m being honest, I think it’s something the UFC needs. They have too many times that their commentators are unsure about what is going on or what should be done, and that’s not their fault. Their commentators are there to explain the ins and outs of fighting to the fans. To sit there and expect them to know all the rules and what the mechanics of the referee is and what they need – they can’t do that.

“So, they have Din Thomas kind of off to the side as the coach. I do think they need, and I’m not saying it’s me, but they need somebody there to absolutely clear things up for the fans when they are in a situation when the time has been stopped, a foul has occurred, or something like that, and gives the correct information about what’s occuring and where they can go with what has happened.”

MMA Analyst Says Colby Covington Might Regret His Return Decision: ‘That’s A Different Buckley’

At UFC Tampa in the promotion’s final event of 2024, Colby Covington makes a somewhat unexpected return to face Joaquin Buckley in the main event on December 14. The former interim welterweight champion has been linked with a lot of different match-ups since his last fight against Leon Edwards in December of last year but […]

Covington will now be replacing Ian Machado Garry to take on the surging Buckley after Garry moved into the co-main event of UFC 310 to face Shavkat Rakhmonov. Though “New Mansa” is in the best form of his life right now, many see Buckley as a more winnable fight for Covington than some of the other names he has been linked with.

For as good as his winning streak at welterweight has been, he’s got some losses on his record and in some of those, he was outwrestled which is where the former three-time title challenger could get his hand raised.

Josh Thomson and “Big” John McCarthy raised this point during a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast where they said that “Chaos” may be underestimating Buckley for this very reason. McCarthy spoke about why Covington has decided to come back for this fight in particular.

“I look and I think Colby actually bit on this fight thinking ‘Alright, I’ve seen people out wrestle Buckley in the past and I can out wrestle him and take him down’. Now, that’s a different Buckley though too, Buckley’s a different fighter.”

McCarthy also made reference to Buckley’s 2018 loss in Bellator to Logan Storley, using this as a comparison to his next match-up.

“You can look at that and say well, Logan just outwrestled him and dropped him anytime he wanted and takedown stuff. Logan’s a better wrestler than Colby Covington ever was okay, sorry, and Buckley is way better now than he was back then.”

MMA Analyst Says Colby Covington Might Regret His Return Decision: ‘That’s A Different Buckley’

“I look and I think Colby actually bit on this fight thinking ‘Alright, I’ve seen people out wrestle Buckley in the past and I can out wrestle him and take him down’. Now, that’s a different Buckley though too, Buckley’s a different fighter.”

McCarthy also made reference to Buckley’s 2018 loss in Bellator to Logan Storley, using this as a comparison to his next match-up.

“You can look at that and say well, Logan just outwrestled him and dropped him anytime he wanted and takedown stuff. Logan’s a better wrestler than Colby Covington ever was okay, sorry, and Buckley is way better now than he was back then.”

MMA Analyst Says Colby Covington Might Regret His Return Decision: ‘That’s A Different Buckley’

“I look and I think Colby actually bit on this fight thinking ‘Alright, I’ve seen people out wrestle Buckley in the past and I can out wrestle him and take him down’. Now, that’s a different Buckley though too, Buckley’s a different fighter.”

McCarthy also made reference to Buckley’s 2018 loss in Bellator to Logan Storley, using this as a comparison to his next match-up.

“You can look at that and say well, Logan just outwrestled him and dropped him anytime he wanted and takedown stuff. Logan’s a better wrestler than Colby Covington ever was okay, sorry, and Buckley is way better now than he was back then.”

John McCarthy says Michael Chandler is Cooked: ‘He’s Hit Tony Ferguson Status’

Former UFC referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy thinks Michael Chandler has finally hit Tony Ferguson status. After sitting on the…

Former UFC referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy thinks Michael Chandler has finally hit Tony Ferguson status.

After sitting on the sidelines for two years waiting for a fight that never came to fruition, Chandler returned to the Octagon at UFC 309 for a rematch with former lightweight world champion Charles Oliveira. Despite a valiant effort and an electrifying fifth round, Chandler came up short on the scorecards.

With the loss, Chandler has lost four of his last five under the UFC banner with his only win during that run coming against Ferguson at UFC 274.

Looking back on the ex-Bellator titleholder’s performance in MSG, McCarthy suggested that Chandler’s career is on a downward trajectory, similar to that of ‘El Cucuy’ who infamously lost eight straight before being shown the door earlier this year.

“Michael Chandler has hit Tony Ferguson status — just being honest … absolutely,” McCarthy said in a recent episode of his WEIGHING IN podcast with Josh Thomson. “Who’s he going to beat? He looked slow. You cannot look slow in the lightweight division. You’re going to die, and he got outwrestled by a jiu-jitsu guy” (h/t Sportskeeda).

Where does Michael Chandler go from here?

Where Chandler goes from here is anyone’s guess.

Unfortunately, ‘Iron’ wasted a large chunk of his time waiting for a fight with Conor McGregor that, in all honestly, was never going to happen.

Of course, that didn’t stop Chandler from calling out the Irishman following his latest loss, but we’ve got a feeling the UFC won’t be itching to book McGregor anytime soon after he was found liable for the 2018 rape of a woman inside a Dublin hotel.

With a losing record and rematches against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje unlikely, McCarthy doesn’t quite know where Chandler fits in one of the UFC’s most talent-rich divisions.

“Dustin [Poirier] doesn’t want to fight him again because of the same things that he f*cking ended up doing in the Oliveira fight,” McCarthy said. “Now I always sit there and say, ‘If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying,’ but don’t sit there and f*cking tell me that he didn’t hit him to the back of the head.

“I don’t give a f*ck if your fist is going on the other side of his ear when your forearm is hitting him to the back of the head, it’s the f*cking back of the head. … I’m not saying he’s got seven losses in a row (like Ferguson) — I’m saying he’s on the same path as Tony Ferguson.”

John McCarthy says Michael Chandler is Cooked: ‘He’s Hit Tony Ferguson Status’

Former UFC referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy thinks Michael Chandler has finally hit Tony Ferguson status. After sitting on the…

Former UFC referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy thinks Michael Chandler has finally hit Tony Ferguson status.

With the loss, Chandler has lost four of his last five under the UFC banner with his only win during that run coming against Ferguson at UFC 274.

“Michael Chandler has hit Tony Ferguson status — just being honest … absolutely,” McCarthy said in a recent episode of his WEIGHING IN podcast with Josh Thomson. “Who’s he going to beat? He looked slow. You cannot look slow in the lightweight division. You’re going to die, and he got outwrestled by a jiu-jitsu guy” (h/t Sportskeeda).

Where does Michael Chandler go from here?

Where Chandler goes from here is anyone’s guess.

Unfortunately, ‘Iron’ wasted a large chunk of his time waiting for a fight with Conor McGregor that, in all honestly, was never going to happen.

With a losing record and rematches against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje unlikely, McCarthy doesn’t quite know where Chandler fits in one of the UFC’s most talent-rich divisions.

“Dustin [Poirier] doesn’t want to fight him again because of the same things that he f*cking ended up doing in the Oliveira fight,” McCarthy said. “Now I always sit there and say, ‘If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying,’ but don’t sit there and f*cking tell me that he didn’t hit him to the back of the head.

“I don’t give a f*ck if your fist is going on the other side of his ear when your forearm is hitting him to the back of the head, it’s the f*cking back of the head. … I’m not saying he’s got seven losses in a row (like Ferguson) — I’m saying he’s on the same path as Tony Ferguson.”