The Return of Big John McCarthy

by Kierkegaard on Nov 5, 2008 10:38 AM EST Comment 9 comments

Fronted by Luke Thomas. Note: while McCarthy is an employee of the athletic commission, it will be interesting to see how Zuffa treats him given their falling out.

via www.mmaontap.com

Both Sherdog and MMAontap are reporting on the return of Big John McCarthy to the cage. McCarthy is apparently scheduled to officiate "selected bouts" at the Strikeforce event in San Jose, CA, on november 21.

According to MMAontap's article, McCarthy has had his officiating license renewed in California, but no information is yet available about whether he will apply for reinstatement in Nevada.

With the distractions brought on by the officiating in recent MMA events, it is great to see the best in the business coming back. Big John *should* be the one in the Octagon for the Couture/Lesnar match, and hopefully whoever does get that one won't do anything to detract from the event itself and the subsequent discussion can focus on the event and not the officiating.

Welcome back, Big John.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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Mario Yamasaki has already been named the referee for this fight.

by Luke Thomas on Nov 5, 2008 10:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don’t have anything against Yamasaki.

But when you’ve got bodies the size of Lesnar and Couture in there banging, it just “feels” like you should have someone like Big John or Herb Dean in there keeping the order, ya know?

On a totally unrelated note, keep up the great word on the MMANation podcasts. I can’t catch the show when it’s actually on, but the podcasts off iTunes have become a fixture on my iPod and pass the time while commuting. Good stuff going on there.

by Kierkegaard on Nov 5, 2008 11:13 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks!

by Luke Thomas on Nov 5, 2008 11:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Herb Dean?

If you are rooting for Randy to snap off one of Brock’s limbs or Brock to pound Randy into a coma then the Dean of Herb is your man.

by Day Man on Nov 5, 2008 1:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Welcome back Big John...

Good to see him back. I’ve been hoping he’d make his way back one day.

by asmiley420 on Nov 5, 2008 11:16 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think you’ll see Mccarthy working UFC shows again, everything I read suggests HE was unhappy with the UFC, not the other way around. Since the FightNetwork is on a downward spiral he left the sinking ship and will hopefully get back to his roots which is great reffing. Perhaps better now now being more tied to the athletic commissions.

I thought he was okay with the Fight network but speaking/commentating never seemed to be forte to me, it always felt really forced.

by pr0cs on Nov 5, 2008 11:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

he's only allowed to come back...

… if he brings the hammer pants back with him.

by woooburn on Nov 5, 2008 11:37 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think I prefer

that he start a refing school. That way he can do even more for the sport by helping create a generation of quality officials.

by Razreshat on Nov 5, 2008 12:33 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

"Quality Officials"?

Whoa there – you gotta start small. This “Qualitative Officiating” stuff is hard and fans just can’t expect that the people running the fights be compotent. With bad refs and judges, fighters should be encouraged to finish more decisively, so they are doing everyone a favor by screwing up.

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett

by themachiavellian on Nov 5, 2008 1:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

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