John Michael McCarthy (born October 12, 1962) is a

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA)

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

best known for officiating numerous bouts promoted by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC), dating back to

UFC 2 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship Part II'' (later renamed ''UFC 2: No Way Out'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 11, 1994, at Mammoth Gardens in Denver, Colorado. The event was seen l ...

. He is credited as being one of the greatest and most recognizable referees in combat sports history and an important figure in the mixed martial arts world, helping create the Unified Rules of MMA after initially creating the original rule book of the UFC. He currently is a commentator for the

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

(PFL) and co-hosts the combat sports-based podcast "Weighing In" with former fighter

Josh Thomson Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1978) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, U ...

Biography

McCarthy spent some time as an officer of the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

, retiring around 2008. In 1993, he became involved with the newly created

(UFC) fighting tournament. He was the referee for

, launching a career as a UFC referee. The UFC initially started with very few rules, but McCarthy gave feedback that it was too dangerous and suggested additional rules, many of which were adopted. McCarthy would often start matches by saying "let's get it on" to the fighters, which became an iconic catchphrase that is associated with him and his refereeing. The nickname of "Big John" came about because of his size and stature. He stands and weighs ; making him larger than the majority of the athletes over whom he presides. According to a UFC interview, the nickname was given to him by UFC co-founder and promoter

Art Davie Art Davie (born April 5, 1947) is a business executive and entrepreneur formerly active in Southern California advertising circles. In 1993, he created and co-produced the tournament which became the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 19 ...

. McCarthy recalls that the nickname began when he forcibly lifted Davie off the ground and held him in the air. In 2018, McCarthy retired from UFC refereeing, and moved to

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

as a commentator. He currently serves as a judging and rules analyst for the

(PFL), who acquired Bellator in 2023.

Awards

*World MMA Awards **Referee of the Year (Three times; 2015, 2016 and 2017)

Personal life

McCarthy has two sons and a daughter, one of who has been an MMA judge since 2013. McCarthy currently resides in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Published work

On September 1, 2011, McCarthy's

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Let's Get It On - The Making of MMA and its Ultimate Referee'', was published.

Film and television

McCarthy had a cameo appearance in the ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' episode, "

The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion The third season of the American television sitcom ''Friends'' aired on NBC from September 19, 1996 to May 15, 1997. Cast and characters Main cast * Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green * Courteney Cox as Monica Geller * Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe ...

". McCarthy also served as the referee on the MTV2 series ''

Bully Beatdown ''Bully Beatdown'' is an American reality television series created by Mark Burnett (executive producer), Mark Burnett that aired on MTV. In each episode, show host Jason Miller (fighter), Jason "Mayhem" Miller challenged bullies to fight agains ...

'', along with professional mixed martial artist

Jason "Mayhem" Miller Jason Miller (born December 24, 1980), best known as Mayhem Miller, is an American podcaster, mixed martial artist, coach, actor, and television host. He is currently “Mayhem the Newsman,” on thAdam Carolla Show. He previously trained with Ki ...

. McCarthy is featured in the award-winning mixed martial arts documentary ''

Fight Life ''Fight Life'' is a feature-length documentary on the sport of mixed martial arts. The film is directed by independent filmmaker James Z. Feng and produced by RiLL Films. The film focuses on the lives of professional mixed martial arts fighters ou ...

'', the film is directed by James Z. Feng and released in 2013. McCarthy appeared in Season 3b, Episode 5 of

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

. McCarthy appeared at the end of the film Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown.

References

External links

COMMAND officiating official site

List of bouts refereed by "Big" John McCarthy
on Tapology * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, John 1962 births American color commentators American sports podcasters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Los Angeles Police Department officers Living people Mixed martial arts broadcasters Mixed martial arts referees Sportspeople from Los Angeles