{
  "id": 18469897,
  "title": "Big John McCarthy Reveals Why He Does Not Officiate UFC Events Anymore",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/big-john-mccarthy-reveals-why-he-does-not-officiate-ufc-events-anymore",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-06T08:26:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/big-john-mccarthy-reveals-why-082625093.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Veteran referee Big John McCarthy has revealed the reason behind his absence from officiating UFC events since 2017. During an interview on the Ariel Helwani podcast, McCarthy explained that his departure was due to Bellator asking him to join their roster, and UFC president Dana White expressing his displeasure with the situation. McCarthy emphasized that UFC has the ability to select officials they feel comfortable with, as the show relies on their decision-making.",
  "summary": "Big John McCarthy is known as the Godfather of MMA officiating, having called fights as early as UFC 2. The veteran referee is also one of the most knowledgeable about MMA rules, having written the original rulebook for the UFC and later helped create the Unified MMA rules way back in 2000 that are still …",
  "key_points": [
    "Big John McCarthy stopped officiating UFC events in 2017.",
    "Bellator recruited McCarthy, causing UFC's displeasure.",
    "UFC can choose officials, show depends on their decisions."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}