“Big” John McCarthy recently announced his return to refereeing, and he’s just received his first assignment.
McCarthy, the longtime UFC official known for his trademark “let’s get it on” catchphrase, has been assigned to officiate the Strikeforce “Destruction” event on November 21 in San Jose.
McCarthy retired from officiating when he left the UFC in December 2007 to take a position with the Fight Network. He has provided color commentary and fight analysis for several smaller shows, most notably Affliction’s “Banned” event in July.
Though he is returning to his original role inside the cage, the move doesn’t guarantee that McCarthy will officiate any future UFC events. In the past, McCarthy was generally viewed as a UFC-exclusive official, but he’s now under the employ of the California State Athletic Commission and will be assigned to shows outside the UFC, but it’s always possible that McCarthy will be assigned to officiate a UFC event.
“I have no control over that,” he said. “That’s up to athletic commissions and what you get assigned to. I may do one show a year. I may do 50. I don’t know, but if I get assigned to something, then I’ll be going if I can.”
McCarthy is currently licensed in California, Ohio and Canada, and will soon apply to be licensed in more states.
