Big John McCarthy Retires From The UFC

The "Octagon's Ninth Side" "Big" John McCarthy has announced his retirement from being head referee at the UFC for their MMA matches in order to pursue a career in broadcasting at the Fight Network.

Big John got his start in MMA training with Rorion Gracie who trained him in Jiu Jitsu for defense in his job as a Police Officer. McCarthy wanted to fight for the fledgling Gracie fighting promotion called the UFC but Rorion wanted him to referee the basically no holds barred matches. The rest is history. Big John became a staple of the UFC reffing matches from UFC 2 until The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale on December 8th, 2007. His last match was Clay Guida vs Roger Huerta after 14 years with the company and one of the most recognized figures ever to be associated with the UFC.

Besides being the most respected referee in the game today, Big John was loved by fans for his yell, "Let's get it on!" which began the fights. John was also one of the best refs whose stoppages were never questioned and was used in the most important matches because of his expertise and respect.

Big John McCarthy earned his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blackbelt in 2007 and has opened his own gym, "The Ultimate Training Academy" to train fighters for MMA. Congrats and good luck to the big fella and we'll look forward to seeing you over at the Fight Network.