John McCarthy has explained why he hasn’t refereed an
Ultimate Fighting Championship bout since 2017.
McCarthy, who helped develop the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial
Arts, said Dana
White was unhappy when he joined the Bellator
commentary team. He suggested White’s opposition contributed to his
absence from UFC assignments.
John McCarthy says Bellator commentary role angered Dana White,
discusses UFC’s influence on referee appointments
State athletic commissions generally assign referees for MMA events
within their jurisdictions. McCarthy said the UFC provides
commissions with names of officials it prefers.
“I went and worked for Bellator and Dana White was absolutely
pissed about that and said, ‘I don’t want him.’ And he doesn’t need
me,” McCarthy told Ariel Helwani. “That’s fine… You want the truth?
I’ll tell you the truth. They put in names for people they feel
comfortable with, which they should be able to do.”
Big John McCarthy reveals why he hasn’t
officiated a UFC event since 2017 and pushes back on Dana White’s
claims about how officials are selected: “I went and worked for
Bellator, and Dana White was absolutely pissed about that and said,
‘I don’t want him.’ And he doesn’t need me. That’s fine. You want
the truth? I’ll tell you the truth. They put in names for people
they feel comfortable with, which they should be able to do.“— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
November 2, 2026