Tag: John McCarthy

Video: Chris Weidman’s return ended with an eye poke – and win. But should it have?

Should Chris Weidman’s win over Bruno Silva have been a DQ or a no contest instead of a win? We discuss on “Spinning Back Clique.”

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel, along with [autotag]John McCarthy[/autotag] – former referee and current PFL analyst – reacted to [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag]’s controversial return win at UFC on ESPN 54.

Weidman (16-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) defeated Bruno Silva this past Saturday, but with plenty of controversy. The former UFC middleweight champion eye poked Silva three times before eye poking him a fourth time, which led to the end of the bout.

Despite the repeated fouls, Weidman was awarded a TKO win, which was then overruled to a technical decision win. It was a highly debated result that had many split. So was it the right call?

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McCarthy and MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura, Nolan King, host “Gorgeous” George Garcia, discussed Weidman’s win and whether it was the right ruling.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and also don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.

John McCarthy: Rose Namajunas doesn’t seem ‘energized by the fight game’ before UFC on ESPN 53

John McCarthy questions Rose Namajunas’ motivation ahead of UFC on ESPN 53.

[autotag]John McCarthy[/autotag] questions [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]’ motivation ahead of UFC on ESPN 53.

Namajunas (11-6 MMA, 9-5 UFC) meets Amanda Ribas (12-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in Saturday’s main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

McCarthy thinks former two-time UFC strawweight champion Namajunas shouldn’t have moved up to flyweight, where she fell short in her divisional debut to Manon Fiorot this past September. McCarthy doesn’t see the same passion in Namajunas anymore.

“The real question is, does she really want to be doing this anymore?,” McCarthy said on the Weighing In podcast. “Because we always say, look, if you’re not 100 percent in, get out. It just doesn’t seem like she’s energized by the fight game. It doesn’t seem to be something that that’s where she wants to be. It’s just something that she’s good at. I don’t know.”

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His co-host, former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson, thinks it’s a matter of opponent that will fuel Namajunas.

“We’ve had fighters on here before and they’ve talked about you need to find the right fight to motivates you,” Thomson said. “She needs to find the right person that motivates her, that gets her inside that cage and gets her going. Joanna did it. Weili did it. Jessica Andrade did it. I mean, like, certain fighters seem to motivate her, and she had her best performances against those fighters.”

Namajunas’ statements during Wednesday’s media day say otherwise. “Thug Rose” said her loss to Fiorot motivated her more, as she looks to claim a title in a second division.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 53.

Josh Thomson, John McCarthy weigh in on Kayla Harrison’s UFC signing: ‘She went where the easier fights are’

Josh Thomson and John McCarthy don’t believe Kayla Harrison is chasing better competition by going to the UFC.

[autotag]Josh Thomson[/autotag] and [autotag]John McCarthy[/autotag] don’t think [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] is chasing better competition by going to the UFC.

After six years with PFL, Harrison opted to sign with the UFC. Harrison (16-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meets former champion Holly Holm (15-6 MMA, 8-6 UFC) in a bantamweight bout April 13 at UFC 300 in Las Vegas.

With PFL acquiring Bellator late last year, a fight between two-time PFL champion Harrison and Bellator champ Cris Cyborg seemed closer than ever to materializing. PFL CEO Peter Murray said Harrison “chose not to” make the fight happen by signing with the UFC, and Thomson thinks it was a wise move.

“The talk that Amanda Nunes may come back, that is the biggest fight they can make in the 135-pound division,” Thomson said on his “Weighing In” podcast. “This picture is her standing next to Dustin Poirier at American Top Team as of yesterday. I think that she already looks like she started her weight cut. I think she had a good idea she was going to be making this weight cut for the last probably two or three months. Smart on her part to go where she wanted to go. I think she went where the easier fights are.”

McCarthy doesn’t fault Harrison for wanting to go to the UFC. He just disagrees with the notion that the move was based on her seeking the tougher fights.

“I don’t blame her for going to the UFC. I don’t blame her for saying how (she wants) to be part of that organization. It’s a phenomenal organization,” McCarthy said. “I understand why she feels like this is a good move for (her). It’s just after all the talk, it’s all about the competition. No, it’s not.”

Harrison will take on Holm looking for her second consecutive victory after she beat Aspen Ladd by unanimous decision in November at the PFL Championships event. That fight came after taking a full year off following her shocking upset loss to Larissa Pacheco in the 2022 women’s lightweight final.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

John McCarthy: Judge Mike Bell knows he ‘f*cked up’ with 10-8 scoring in Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko rematch

John McCarthy says judge Mike Bell admitted he made a mistake in his scoring of the Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko rematch.

Apparently, judge [autotag]Mike Bell[/autotag] owned up to his mistake, not publicly, but privately.

Bell was under heavy public scrutiny this past September after he scored the fifth round of the Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko rematch a 10-8, a score that led to the UFC women’s flyweight fight to end in a split draw. Many, including Shevchenko – who felt she won the fight – wanted answers from Bell as to why he scored the fifth round a 10-8, as the vast majority of people disagreed.

[autotag]John McCarthy[/autotag], a former veteran referee, who’s been working as a commentator for Bellator in recent years, said he spoke to Bell and Bell admitted he was in the wrong.

“Mike Bell, the moment it happened, said, ‘I f*cked up. I screwed that up. I gave it too much. This is what I was looking for, but it wasn’t enough, and I made a mistake,'” McCarthy told MMA Junkie Radio. “What more can you ask for than someone that says, ‘Hey, I was wrong, and I’m going to work to fix it’? That’s what he did (by) taking some time off. ‘I’m going to go back to watching fights,’ and Mike Bell watches more fights than anybody out there that’s a fan. Trust me.”

McCarthy confirmed Bell took some time away from judging to get his mind right, as he believes he made the wrong call at Noche UFC. McCarthy assures that Bell is a quality judge and feels the public doesn’t understand how difficult their job actually is.

“I understand, based upon talking to him, exactly how he got to it,” McCarthy said. “Now, I was honest with him and told him, ‘No, I didn’t have the 10-8 and these are the reasons why,’ and I walked him through it. But I can understand when you’re there and under that moment, you’re looking and trying to see the differences.

“… A lot of people have felt like, ‘Oh, he was making up because he didn’t like that score he did earlier.’ That’s bullsh*t. Look, he’s done too many world title fights. He is a phenomenal judge, but he is human. He made a mistake. He was honest about it. One of the things commissions don’t want, they don’t want you to be talking to a judge. So when you’re not talking and everybody else is, there it is, ‘Oh, he did it on purpose,’ and they come up will all these goddamn conspiracy theories.”

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John McCarthy confirms he won’t work as commentator for PFL, explains new role

“Big” John McCarthy won’t be doing commentator work with his transition to PFL.

[autotag]John McCarthy[/autotag] is not going anywhere following PFL’s acquisition of Bellator. However, his role will change.

McCarthy, a retired veteran combat sports referee who helped create the Unified Rules of MMA, will not work as a commentator for PFL or its Bellator-branded events. Instead, McCarthy will be aiding the commentators and broadcast team in terms of explaining and clarifying topics to the public from a rules and regulations standpoint.

McCarthy confirmed the change in an interview with MMA Junkie Radio.

“I am going to be staying with the PFL because I had a contract with Bellator, and it still has a year on it, so the PFL picked that up,” McCarthy explained. “Will my role be the same? I don’t think it’s going to be the same.

“I think it’s going to be more towards rules and regulations, scoring the fights and doing those things – making sure everyone understands what’s being done, if it’s being done in the correct way and what options do the officials have.”

“Big John” McCarthy worked as a referee for many years and was arguably the most popular referee to work UFC events given his long tenure and quality work. McCarthy stepped away from refereeing and joined Bellator as a commentator in 2018, where he’s been commentating fights alongside Mauro Ranallo since.

He’s excited about his new role under the PFL and happy to be aiding a broadcast team he respects.

“They have great commentators with Sean (O’Connell), Randy (Couture) and Kenny (Florian) being their color guys,” McCarthy said. “They even have Dan Hardy. So they’re kinda stocked there, so I was like there’s no place for me, but they actually came to me and said, ‘Hey, we have big ideas.’ So right now I get to stay with the PFL.

“I look at it: It’s the PFL, they absorbed Bellator and yes, there’s still a Bellator, and they just announced Bellator vs. PFL in Saudi Arabia. It’s a fantastic card and I can’t wait to see it come to fruition.”

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MMA Junkie Radio #3429: Guests Cris Cyborg and John McCarthy, PFL vs. Bellator, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,429, the fellas welcome in Bellator champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] and official turned commentator John McCarthy. They also discuss the big PFL vs. Bellator event set to go down in Saudi Arabia, and more. Tune in!

John McCarthy came back to haunt Philadelphia Union, giving LAFC an MLS Cup shootout win

One of the heroes of MLS Cup got one over on his old club

You couldn’t script it any better for John McCarthy.

LAFC won their first-ever championship in no small part thanks to the former Philadelphia Union goalkeeper, who came off the bench in the 117th minute of MLS Cup. He would go on to stop spot kicks from José Martínez and Kai Wagner, setting the stage for LAFC to take the wildest MLS Cup of all time by converting three of their four penalty attempts after a 3-3 extra time draw.

“We know what he can do on penalties. We’ve seen it, we train them,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo told reporters after the match, indicating that the team at least considered sending McCarthy in for Maxime Crépeau even if the Canadian had not been both injured and sent off in a late collision.

“Couldn’t happen to a better guy. John is one of the heartbeats of this team,” added Cherundolo, who later referred to McCarthy as “the best number two in the league.”

A Philadelphia native who stayed close to home to attend La Salle University, McCarthy made his pro debut for the Rochester Rhinos, only to parlay that into a deal with the Union in 2015. He spent four seasons with Philadelphia, and while he generally backed up Andre Blake, he did develop cult hero status at Subaru Park for his penalty kick expertise during the club’s U.S. Open Cup runs.

However, the Union let McCarthy walk after the end of the 2018 season, and he had to dip back down into the USL Championship to find the right landing spot. He parlayed a strong season with the Tampa Bay Rowdies into a return to MLS with Inter Miami.

While he picked up a decent number of starts under Phil Neville, he never quite took hold of the job, and he joined LAFC as a free agent in January 2022. Before stepping into MLS Cup and becoming a hero, he hadn’t played a match since an August Leagues Cup Showcase match against Club América. His last competitive minutes, and only official LAFC appearance before Saturday, came nearly six months earlier.

Ilie Sánchez said LAFC “knew how good John is in goal,” bringing up that friendly against the Liga MX giants. On that day, McCarthy saved one spot kick and got his hands to three more attempts. This time, he had just a bit more luck.

Maybe the Union should have seen what was coming. After all, while playing for Philadelphia, McCarthy found himself in a penalty tiebreaker against his old club, Rochester. The result? McCarthy saved three penalties in a round of 16 match that the Union would win.

Later in that same Open Cup run, Jim Curtin was brave enough to bring McCarthy in as a last-second sub for Blake during the final against Sporting Kansas City. McCarthy did stop a Krisztián Németh penalty, but as was the case at the Banc of California Stadium, the Union would come up short.

“Look, soccer gods have a funny way of working,” said Union head coach Jim Curtin with a reluctant chuckle. “We didn’t have Johnny and Gareth Bale being the ones that did us in today. But again, soccer is a funny sport that way. And then, those are the guys that stepped up in a big spot.”

It was a stunning but appropriate end to a completely wild game. Maxime Crépeau’s stomach-turning injury brought McCarthy, one of the substitutes least likely to play on the day, into a match that had been unhinged from the jump. That’s not a recipe for a goalkeeper to have a great day at the office, given how much the position is about poise and composure.

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John McCarthy ‘did exactly what you should never do’ when scoring Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2

The longtime referee turned commentator John McCarthy admitted a mistake in scoring Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2.

Even “Big” [autotag]John McCarthy[/autotag] can admit to making a mistake when it comes to judging a fight.

Not many have as much experience as McCarthy when it comes to understanding what happens inside the cage during an MMA fight, but the longtime referee and current Bellator commentator admitted he made an error in judgment which sparked a recent back-and-forth with UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag].

“Here’s the first thing, and Aljamain Sterling can hate me, again, I honestly don’t care, but I will tell you, I don’t hate him,” McCarthy told MMA Junkie Radio. “I think he’s a phenomenal fighter. I think he’s just a dynamite fighter and he deserves to be where he’s at. But when you take a look at judging of a fight, I did exactly what you should never do, and that’s have friends over, be jaw-jackin’ with them while the fight’s going on, and then think that you saw that fight as you should have. I didn’t.”

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Originally, McCarthy said there was ‘no way’ Sterling won the first round of the UFC 273 bout against Petr Yan. His comment sparked a firey reply from Sterling who was also slighted by UFC president Dana White when it came to the scorecards of the bantamweight title fight.

Sterling won the fight via split decision, with two judges issuing scores of 48-47 in his favor. The first round of the contest was the only round in which the judges were split.

“That guy’s just a complete idiot,” Sterling said of McCarthy in an interview with MMA Junkie.

While McCarthy certainly saw and heard Sterling’s responses to his initial opinion on the contest, he doesn’t hold any ill-will towards the bantamweight champ. The former referee also played the fight back and come to a different conclusion.

“I went back and watched it and said I can definitely see why someone would say Aljamain won that,” McCarthy said. “If you’re going for volume, you’re gonna go more for  Aljamain. If you’re going more for power, you’re gonna go more for Yan, but it’s razor-close. And you know, I was wrong.”

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Bellator’s Josh Thomson, John McCarthy weigh pros, cons of potential Yoel Romero signing

Bellator commentators Josh Thomson, John McCarthy weigh in on the potential signing of Yoel Romero.

Bellator commentators [autotag]Josh Thomson[/autotag] and [autotag]John McCarthy[/autotag] are somewhat on the fence about a potential [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] move to Bellator.

The former UFC title challenger was released from the promotion on Friday in a move that caught many by surprise, though UFC president Dana White confirmed more releases are on the way. Romero (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) was in the top five of the UFC’s official middleweight rankings before getting dropped from the roster. He’s been a top contender in the promotion for many years.

And with Romero now free agent, many have been left wondering where he’ll go next, as he’s still one of the most dangerous middleweights today.

“It’s an age thing, it really is,” Thomson said on his and McCarthy’s “Weighing In” podcast on Sunday. “He’s 43 years old. They (UFC) know that he’s not going to be champion.”

McCarthy understands how the age factor could be a problem for Romero, but also pointed out that the “Soldier of God” is arguably the most athletic middleweight today despite his age. McCarthy also questioned Romero’s age, citing that he could be older than 43 because “Cubans lie about their age,” though it’s important to note no such evidence has ever been presented regarding Romero.

“Biologically, he’s 43, but he might be older than that,” McCarthy said. “So he might even be older than 43, but you look at what he really is and you look at his body, and that dude is like 32 years old. He’s a stud. He’s made out of a different material than 99.9 percent of us.”

Romero last fought in March at UFC 248 where he fell short in a title fight against current UFC middlweight champion Israel Adesanya. It was an uneventful bout that ended in a split decision for the champion.

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Thomson said Romero is still skilled enough to become champion, but questions his longevity in the sport, which from his perspective is a bad investment for promotors – including Bellator.

“They (UFC) don’t want to get in the business of older fighters,” Thomson said. “Let’s say ‘Izzy’ moves out. He’s not going to fight for a title again. Dana said that was pretty much his last shot the last time he fought. He’s like, ‘Look, I’m not going to do it for you. If you’re 43, you’re my champion, you’re going to fight another year or two and then you’re gone.

“There’s no reason to have you fight again for the championship. You’re 43 years old, so it’s not going to make sense. They’re probably paying him a pretty penny because he is good. I think he was ranked No. 4 when they let him go. … I hope we (Bellator) don’t sign him.”

There’s no denying that Romero is among the oldest fighters competing today in MMA. However, he had a late start in MMA, debuting when he was 32.

Romero has also had some of his best career moments in recent times. With the lack luster title fight against Adesanya aside, Romero did plenty in his previous four bouts.

He had a wild “Fight of the Night” brawl against Paulo Costa at UFC 241, two back-and-forth wars with then champion Robert Whittaker – one in 2017 and another 2018 – and a highlight-reel knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 221 in early 2018.

McCarthy said he agrees with Thomson, but the fan in him keeps him from making that a hard “no” for a potential Romero move to Bellator.

“What tells me don’t sign him is 43,” McCarthy explained. “The things that tell me do sign him, I know biologically he’s 43 or plus, but physically he’s a (explicit) monster and can beat anybody any given day.

“So I always like watching a guy. And I’ll tell you, there’s times that I’m so impressed with his performance, and there’s times where I’m disappointed with his performances. His fight against ‘Izzy’ was horrible. So I’m not going to sit here and say I’m homer for Yoel. There’s times he’s fought really well, and there’s times he fought really bad. But he’s a guy you look at and go, ‘Man, I could actually see him against Gegard (Mousasi), and that be a fun fight to watch. But because he’s 43, overall I’d say no.”

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