MMAOddsBreaker’s Frank Trigg speaks with mixed martial arts (MMA) refereeing pioneer “Big” John McCarthy about the state of refereeing in MMA, especially in lieu of the recent Drew Dober/Claudio Silva refereeing controversy from UFC Fight Night 62.
The long-time referee explained why he’s in his current position and the advantages of being around since the beginning of the UFC:
“The one thing I have going for me is I was there from the beginning. I know why things happen. I was the one that wrote the rules. I was the one that wrote our criteria for judging along with Jeff Blatnick. So I know where I came from. I understand exactly what was meant at certain times so in some ways I have an advantage because I’ve been around so long and in some ways it’s not an advantage because I’m the old bastard.”