As noted, when the referees and judges were announced for the UFC 200 main event between Jon Jones and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, the Jones camp filed a formal protest of the selection of veteran referee “Big” John McCarthy being given the assignment.
On Tuesday, “Bones” Jones commented on the matter personally.
“I would prefer any other referee but him,” said Jones.
The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion would go on to elaborate on his concerns regarding McCarthy as the referee for his rematch against D.C.
“It’s been a mixture of many things throughout the years,” Jones said. “Just the energy. I don’t feel like we have the best energy. It’s an accumulation of some of the things that happened during some fights and just personal interactions. I just don’t feel as, you don’t need anything stacking up against you when you’re fighting a guy a great fighter like DC.”
As Jones continued, he explained his belief that if he were in McCarthy’s shoes and knew a fighter didn’t want him officiating his bout, he would voluntarily remove himself from contention.
“He [officiates] probably once a week somewhere,” Jones said. “For me, this is my life, this is my story, this is my legacy. This is everything to me, and if I don’t agree with his energy that he brings to the fight, if I was him, I wouldn’t want to be a part of it. You know what I mean? If you’re not welcome, why would you even want to be part of someone’s big night who doesn’t want you there. I would say, ‘you know, I’ll back out of this one, I don’t need to be a part of this one.'”
Jon Jones fights Daniel Cormier in a rematch for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in the main event of UFC 200 on Saturday, July 9, 2016 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As noted, when the referees and judges were announced for the UFC 200 main event between Jon Jones and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier, the Jones camp filed a formal protest of the selection of veteran referee “Big” John McCarthy being given the assignment.
On Tuesday, “Bones” Jones commented on the matter personally.
“I would prefer any other referee but him,” said Jones.
The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion would go on to elaborate on his concerns regarding McCarthy as the referee for his rematch against D.C.
“It’s been a mixture of many things throughout the years,” Jones said. “Just the energy. I don’t feel like we have the best energy. It’s an accumulation of some of the things that happened during some fights and just personal interactions. I just don’t feel as, you don’t need anything stacking up against you when you’re fighting a guy a great fighter like DC.”
As Jones continued, he explained his belief that if he were in McCarthy’s shoes and knew a fighter didn’t want him officiating his bout, he would voluntarily remove himself from contention.
“He [officiates] probably once a week somewhere,” Jones said. “For me, this is my life, this is my story, this is my legacy. This is everything to me, and if I don’t agree with his energy that he brings to the fight, if I was him, I wouldn’t want to be a part of it. You know what I mean? If you’re not welcome, why would you even want to be part of someone’s big night who doesn’t want you there. I would say, ‘you know, I’ll back out of this one, I don’t need to be a part of this one.'”
Jon Jones fights Daniel Cormier in a rematch for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in the main event of UFC 200 on Saturday, July 9, 2016 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Friday night’s Bellator 149 bout between Kimbo Slice and Dada 5000 was widely mocked on the internet prior to the news of Dada’s heart failure after the match. Referee “Big” John McCarthy was recently aske…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5g_-TSUVFw
Friday night’s Bellator 149 bout between Kimbo Slice and Dada 5000 was widely mocked on the internet prior to the news of Dada’s heart failure after the match. Referee “Big” John McCarthy was recently asked by MMAFighting about why he didn’t stop the fight earlier. McCarthy explained that based on was was in front of him, he did not feel it was appropriate to stop the bout.
“There was never anything that landed that was hard,” McCarthy explained. “They didn’t hit each other with any hard shots. Look, there are people that paid money to see this fight. This is not just about you laying on somebody because you’re both tired. That’s your fault for coming into the fight in that condition.”
At UFC 178, Tim Kennedy was on the cusp of knocking out Yoel Romero in the dying seconds of round two, after he had endured a difficult 10 minutes against the Cuban powerhouse in their main card battle. Kennedy, who also grabbed Romero’s gloves to land several uppercuts, had “Soldier of God” in a world of hurt, as he continued to pounce on his adversary. The horn saved Romero, and as referee “Big” John McCarthy separated both fighters and ordered them to their respective corners, Romero looked as if he had spent three days in an afterhours club hopped up on Molly.
He had no clue where he was, sat on his stool, and looked quite petrified as he mumbled words to his coaches.
As both fighters were summoned for the third and final round, Romero just sat there while his coaches moved like tortoises exiting the cage. Despite his corner men stalling, Romero was still on his stool, with too much Vaseline on him. His corner proceeded to wipe it off, while the American walked around frustrated. As Joe Rogan went ballistic, the fight wasn’t called off, a point wasn’t even deducted, and more so, “Big” John McCarthy didn’t do a damn thing about it.
Seconds into the third round, Romero dropped Kennedy, pummeled him to hell and back, and stood over his bloody foe in victory after being awarded with the stoppage victory.
Pretty strange, huh?
Now, this reeks of controversy from both sides. Kennedy’s blatant glove-grabbing maybe wasn’t worthy of disqualification, yet Romero on his stool was pretty atrocious. Even if the fighter has too much Vaseline on him, which according to Dana White at the post-fight presser, was the promotion’s fault because it was one of their employees, he shouldn’t be chilling on the stool. But here’s the thing … were the corner men told to exit before taking the stool? Probably. However, isn’t it their job to actually take the stool?
Take a look at the confrontation between both fighters backstage, courtesy of a Vine post (props to MMA Fighting for the link) after the jump.
(Photo via Getty)
At UFC 178, Tim Kennedy was on the cusp of knocking out Yoel Romero in the dying seconds of round two, after he had endured a difficult 10 minutes against the Cuban powerhouse in their main card battle. Kennedy, who also grabbed Romero’s gloves to land several uppercuts, had “Soldier of God” in a world of hurt, as he continued to pounce on his adversary. The horn saved Romero, and as referee “Big” John McCarthy separated both fighters and ordered them to their respective corners, Romero looked as if he had spent three days in an afterhours club hopped up on Molly.
He had no clue where he was, sat on his stool, and looked quite petrified as he mumbled words to his coaches.
As both fighters were summoned for the third and final round, Romero just sat there while his coaches moved like tortoises exiting the cage. Despite his corner men stalling, Romero was still on his stool, with too much Vaseline on him. His corner proceeded to wipe it off, while the American walked around frustrated. As Joe Rogan went ballistic, the fight wasn’t called off, a point wasn’t even deducted, and more so, “Big” John McCarthy didn’t do a damn thing about it.
Seconds into the third round, Romero dropped Kennedy, pummeled him to hell and back, and stood over his bloody foe in victory after being awarded with the stoppage victory.
Pretty strange, huh?
Now, this reeks of controversy from both sides. Kennedy’s blatant glove-grabbing maybe wasn’t worthy of disqualification, yet Romero on his stool was pretty atrocious. Even if the fighter has too much Vaseline on him, which according to Dana White at the post-fight presser, was the promotion’s fault because it was one of their employees, he shouldn’t be chilling on the stool. But here’s the thing … were the corner men told to exit before taking the stool? Probably. However, isn’t it their job to actually take the stool?
Let’s take a look at the confrontation between both fighters backstage, courtesy of a Vine post (props to MMA Fighting for the link):
We’re probably set for more footage shortly, via video blogs or UFC Embedded. Also, Kennedy found the exact ruling from the Nevada Athletic Commission regarding recovery in between rounds, and shared it via Twitter:
The American plans to file a complain with the commission in the upcoming days, according to MMA Junkie. It remains to be seen if the commission will act on this matter, or if it’s just an unfortunate circumstance that won’t be fixed altogether.
So immediate rematch of last night’s “Fight of The Night?” Nah, I think we’re good. Potential change to a no-contest? Maybe … just maybe (doubt it, though).
Art Jimmerson is arguably the most derided fighter in the history of MMA. This is understandable. The dude went into UFC 1 thinking he was going to collect some easy money by knocking out strip mall McDojo masters.
As we know, the reality was that Jimmerson was out of his depth in a no holds barred competition. And, of course, he fought Royce Gracie wearing only one glove, instantly guaranteeing himself a place in MMA’s hall of shame.
UFC co-creator Campbell McClaren recently dished on the one-glove issue on Darce Side Radio. It turns out “Big” John McCarthy had an exchange with Jimmerson before the fight. He explained what Royce Gracie would do to Jimmerson, as well as the horrifying fact that the referee wouldn’t separate the fighters in the case of a clinch. This was a fight, not a boxing match.
Art Jimmerson is arguably the most derided fighter in the history of MMA. This is understandable. The dude went into UFC 1 thinking he was going to collect some easy money by knocking out strip mall McDojo masters.
As we know, the reality was that Jimmerson was out of his depth in a no holds barred competition. And, of course, he fought Royce Gracie wearing only one glove, instantly guaranteeing himself a place in MMA’s hall of shame.
UFC co-creator Campbell McClaren recently dished on the one-glove issue on Darce Side Radio. It turns out “Big” John McCarthy had an exchange with Jimmerson before the fight. He explained what Royce Gracie would do to Jimmerson, as well as the horrifying fact that the referee wouldn’t separate the fighters in the case of a clinch. This was a fight, not a boxing match.
“Big John said, ‘you know what he’s going to do to you right?’” McLaren said, re-telling the story he only recently became privy to. “Jimmerson said, ‘what’s he going to do?’ and he was dancing around and doing boxing moves. Big John said, ‘You ever get in a clinch in a boxing match?’ Jimmerson said, ‘yeah, the ref breaks it up.’ Big John goes,” In this they’re not going to break it up when he grabs you. He’s going to have his arms on you. They’re not going to break that up. The ref doesn’t break that up in this fight.’ Jimmerson goes, ‘what?’ Big John said, “He’s going to shoot in. He’s going to grab you. You are going to get one chance to hit him, and if you miss, he’s going to be all over you.’ Jimmerson said, ‘He’s going to break my arm isn’t he?’ Big John said, ‘Yeah, he’s going to break your arm.’
“That’s when he decided to wear the one glove,” McLaren revealed. “To make sure we could see him tapping with the other hand. Walking with him to the Octagon, he said, ‘If I tap with my glove hand, is it a still a tap?’ That’s when I knew it wasn’t going to work out.”
This story, in conjunction with Art Davie revealing Jimmerson neglected to bring his shorts, gloves, and boxing shoes to the fight, make Jimmerson out to be a comic relief jobber. And to an extent, he was–at least in the UFC. He was a punching bag (or grappling dummy, in this case) for Royce Gracie. However, Jimmerson was also a professional fighter. We’ve been re-watching a lot of the old classics on UFC Fight Pass. As a result, we’ve developed a sense of protective nostalgia toward some fighters. We’re not going into full “LEAVE JIMMERSON ALONE” mode or anything like that. We’re just saying that Jimmerson wasn’t an entire sport’s joke once. Let’s just remember that.
(“Gentlemen, I want a good, clean fight. Listen to my commands at all times, protect yourself at all…I’m sorry, did one of you just shit your pants?” Photo via Esporte.)
We hate to keep beating this dead horse*, but the judging over the past couple UFC events has been particularly egregious. While UFC 156 merely suffered from a puzzling split decision or two and a main event that just barely escaped the controversy we predicted it would end in, last weekend’s UFC on FUEL 7 event was a veritable smorgasbord of fatuousness. Thanks in no small to the efforts of judge Aaron Chatfield — who both scored the Che Mills/Matt Riddle fight 29-28 for Mills and gave Paul Sass the first round against Danny Castillo — MMA judging has once again found itself at the center of controversy. That controversy being: Who the hell are these people and how did they waltz into these jobs?
It’s an answer that seems to allude even Big John McCarthy, the all-seeing, all knowing eye of MMA refereeing, who has been forced called out these blind, ignant sons of bitches for being such blind, ignant sons of bitches. Via MMAFighting:
When it comes to the judging, the biggest thing is, judging by nature is subjective. You look at a fight and you have a guy that throws a bunch of punches. One judge — we’ll say [it’s] you — is looking at it, and you’re giving him credit, saying, ‘Wow, he’s really active.’ While I’m looking at it saying, ‘He’s not connecting.’
When you’re looking at the UFC, there’s not a whole lot of excuses. You’ve got a monitor in front of you, so [even] when you can’t see, [you can still see]. That monitor gives them the ability to see a fight from a variety of angles, not just from the one they’re sitting at. And so there’s not a lot of excuses to say, ‘Well, I didn’t see that,’ when it comes to the UFC.
After the jump: McCarthy takes aim at his fellow referees and somehow neglects to mention Jerry Poe.
(“Gentlemen, I want a good, clean fight. Listen to my commands at all times, protect yourself at all…I’m sorry, did one of you just shit your pants?” Photo via Esporte.)
We hate to keep beating this dead horse*, but the judging over the past couple UFC events has been particularly egregious. While UFC 156 merely suffered from a puzzling split decision or two and a main event that just barely escaped the controversy we predicted it would end in, last weekend’s UFC on FUEL 7 event was a veritable smorgasbord of fatuousness. Thanks in no small to the efforts of judge Aaron Chatfield — who both scored the Che Mills/Matt Riddle fight 29-28 for Mills and gave Paul Sass the first round against Danny Castillo — MMA judging has once again found itself at the center of controversy. That controversy being: Who the hell are these people and how did they waltz into these jobs?
It’s an answer that seems to allude even Big John McCarthy, the all-seeing, all knowing eye of MMA refereeing, who has been forced called out these blind, ignant sons of bitches for being such blind, ignant sons of bitches. Via MMAFighting:
When it comes to the judging, the biggest thing is, judging by nature is subjective. You look at a fight and you have a guy that throws a bunch of punches. One judge — we’ll say [it’s] you — is looking at it, and you’re giving him credit, saying, ‘Wow, he’s really active.’ While I’m looking at it saying, ‘He’s not connecting.’
When you’re looking at the UFC, there’s not a whole lot of excuses. You’ve got a monitor in front of you, so [even] when you can’t see, [you can still see]. That monitor gives them the ability to see a fight from a variety of angles, not just from the one they’re sitting at. And so there’s not a lot of excuses to say, ‘Well, I didn’t see that,’ when it comes to the UFC.
Look, we’ve been down this road before. We’ve offered advice on alternate scoring methods, we’ve heard what the pros have to say about it. And if the past few events — or the words of UFC VP of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner, who responded to the controversy by declaring that “some stuff” is being worked out internally — are any indication, then nothing short of a fixed fight is going to change the criteria upon which an MMA judge is decided, let alone be improved upon. Fighter-turned-judge Ricardo Almeida once suggested that each and every athletic commission member should be subjected to an educational “summit” each year in order to bring a more technical understanding of the sport to those supposedly fit to judge/reside over it, and that idea has caught on about as fast as that of a fighter’s union. And for the time being, it seems like things are going to stay that way.
But if there is one group of people involved in MMA that should not only be constantly evolving with the sport but actively seeking to evolve, it’s the referees, right? Because while a judge’s ignorance might equal a controversial victory for one fighter, a referee’s ignorance could drastically alter the course of a fight or worse *cough* looking at you, Jerry Poe *cough*. Take the Bobby Green/Jacob Volkmann fight from UFC 156, for instance, in which referee Kim Winslow chose to stand the two up in the second round despite the fact that Green was completely working Volkmann over with ground and pound at the time. Although Green was able to score the victory regardless, in short, Big John did not approve:
I will [only] stand a fight up when it’s close to an even position,” McCarthy said. “If you’re in guard, or even half guard, and the action has stalled to the point, and I give you warnings [that] I need you to get busy and nothing really changes, you’ve shown me that you can’t do anything, I’m going to stop you. I’m going to restart you. But if you get to dominant positions, be it side control, mount, back, the only way in the world that I would ever stand somebody up out of that, and I’ve done it once — I tell this story, it’s Jeremy Horn – is if you go and clamp down and you’re the one stalling the fight because you’re not doing anything.
You’ve got to have some compassion about how hard it is to do some of the things these [fighters] are trying to do, and doing it against a guy who knows what you’re trying to do. When you get guys in these mad scrambles and they’ll finally end up in a position on the ground, and you’ll see a referee come in and five second later [say], ‘Come one. Work.’ It’s like, ‘Jesus Christ, don’t you think they just did? Wouldn’t you be trying to get your heart rate back and breathe a little bit?’ You’ve got to be reasonable when you’re looking at things. Sometimes that’s what separates the referees that fighters want to have doing their fights compared to others, because they understand the complexities of what’s going on.
It remains to be seen if anything will actually be done to help curb two of the biggest problems currently facing MMA (well, two of the three biggest problems at least). The sad fact is, neither referees, nor judges, nor the athletic commissions responsible for hiring either of the former have truly been forced to take responsibility for a blown call, a late stoppage, or a botched score. Sure, us fans get in an uproar and take to our laptops every time we see one, but nothing is ever accomplished in terms of moving forward, primarily because none of the parties involved ever appear to be in danger of losing their job as a result of their own incompetence.
It’s a luxury many of us can’t afford at our jobs, unless your job is my job, in which case “gross incompetence” is more of a grey area. CAPTAIN SWINGDICK FOR LIFE, ASSHOLES!!!
* I know, I’m also disappointed that I couldn’t think of a fresh Alistair Overeem joke to go here. I’ll see myself out.
King Mo was defeated via TKO after first being caught with a nice series of offense from the Brazilian. First Mo drove Feijao into the cage and followed with a great body shot. Feijao has the Thai clinch and delivers two knees to Mo’s head. The first one misses, the second one staggers Mo. He […]
King Mo was defeated via TKO after first being caught with a nice series of offense from the Brazilian. First Mo drove Feijao into the cage and followed with a great body shot. Feijao has the Thai clinch and delivers two knees to Mo’s head. The first one misses, the second one staggers Mo. He stumbles backwards and Feijao grazes Mo’s chin with a reaching hook. It was probably more of a stumble, but Mo was rocked badly. Feijao follows with rabbit punches that keep Mo dazed, but the wrestler goes to what he knows and secures a single leg and pushes Feijao to the cage. Feijao kicks his hips out with Mo leaning on Feijao all the while Feijao is dropping hammerfists and now moves to elbows to the side of Mo’s noggin. Mo is doing nothing and then his arm goes limp. Big John McCarthy stops the fight in the second round.
Other fight recaps:
Tim Kennedy got robbed against Jacare Souza (in my opinion), but it was a razor close fight. However, Kennedy did the most variety of things.
George Gurgel got manhandled by KJ Noons and was KOd.
Bobby Lashley was beat by Chad Griggs in a 2nd round TKO. Very similar fight in the King Mo Fejao fight. Both guys were beaten while attempting and leaning in for a double leg while getting hammer fisted and elbowed from above. Weird.
