“Big” John McCarthy didn’t just help write the Unified Rules of MMA, he knows them like the back of his hand. The veteran referee turned commentator has been using his expertise when it comes to the rules of the sport to assist on the PFL’s broadcasts since the promotion acquired Bellator last year.
McCarthy is often utilized as a rules analyst who will chime in on the broadcast to explain what is happening in certain scenarios which is no different to what happens in other sports. His current contract with the PFL has recently expired and though he does not intend on going back to the days where he would be constantly flying from A to B, he does think that the MMA leader could benefit from his services.
“Big” John spoke in a recent interview with MMA Junkie about how the UFC would benefit from having a rules analyst for their broadcasts even if it’s not necessarily him in that role. He explained why this would be beneficial as an added layer of detail which the commentators aren’t currently providing.
“Oh, absolutely,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know if the UFC would want me, but yeah, I could do it with the UFC. And I’m being honest, I think it’s something the UFC needs. They have too many times that their commentators are unsure about what is going on or what should be done, and that’s not their fault. Their commentators are there to explain the ins and outs of fighting to the fans. To sit there and expect them to know all the rules and what the mechanics of the referee is and what they need – they can’t do that.
“So, they have Din Thomas kind of off to the side as the coach. I do think they need, and I’m not saying it’s me, but they need somebody there to absolutely clear things up for the fans when they are in a situation when the time has been stopped, a foul has occurred, or something like that, and gives the correct information about what’s occuring and where they can go with what has happened.”
