↵Famed mixed martial arts referee “Big” John McCarthy will return to the UFC’s octagon for the first time since 2007 when he oversees action during the upcoming UFC on Versus 2 show.
McCarthy’s wife Elaine confirmed to MMA Fighting that he has been assigned by the California State Athletic Commission to officiate matches at the event, which takes place on Sunday at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, Calif.
‘Big’ John McCarthy Returns To UFC Reffing Duties At UFC on Versus 2
↵↵- Via MMA Fighting
↵McCarthy has been assigned to the WEC as a judge one time during his exile from Zuffa competitions. He has not, however, been engaged as a referee. It will be interesting to see which matches John works and how the UFC handles talking (or not) talking about Big John’s return during the broadcast.
↵Recently Dana White has taken to making public statements about Herb Dean being the best referee in the business which many took as a shot at John, but it has been a long time since McCarthy has reffed on the biggest stage. Not that performance anxiety should factor in as a referee but perception is reality and far more people were seeing Dean on the big nights than were seeing McCarthy working Strikeforce events.
↵
See More:
