(We’re going to have a clean, fair fight. Obey my commands at all times. If you don’t, I’mma jam this mic so deep in your eye socket you can hear yourself think. / Pic Props: The Fight Network)

By: Jason Moles

There are only three certainties in life: Death, taxes, and dreadful refereeing in mixed martial arts. With tax day behind us and a clean bill of health from the doc, the only thing left to avoid is blunders like those that occurred this past Saturday night at The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 Finale at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The offenses ranged from unrepentant fence-grabbing to controversial stoppages. (Surprisingly, we’re not talking about Steve Mazagatti this time.) Sadly, this might have been prevented if Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer would squash his beef with the godfather of MMA referees, “Big” John McCarthy.

What’s the beef about, you ask? To hear McCarthy tell it, Kizer got upset and took his ball home when UFC’s first head referee said the same thing the fans have been saying for years. Via MMAFighting:

“I thought he was putting some people in positions to judge fights that didn’t understand actually what the fighters were doing, and that’s wrong,” McCarthy explained. “I said that and I stood by it. He got mad, and from that, he has never licensed me again. And that’s okay. That’s his choice. I’m not going to cry about it and worry about it.”

McCarthy apologized publicly to Kizer and three years ago resubmitted his application for licensure. Not surprisingly, he hasn’t heard back, other than an ominous note stating that his “application will stay on file.”

That’s funny; Dana White told CagePotato the same thing about my press credentials. Fast forward to this Saturday, and instead of sitting on press row in sunny California for UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Melendez, I’ll be sitting in Ben’s living room with a bunch of boxercisers. [Ed. note: How. Dare. You.] Where was I? Oh yeah, most MMA refs are incompetent and terrible at their job.

Case in point: Maximo Blanco vs. Sam Sicilia…

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Vale Tudo legend Rickson Gracie is partnering with a new MMA organization in Brazil, y’all, and he’s putting his own unique stamp on the format and rules. Some are new ideas, many are ones tried before and at least one is just kinda weird.

Our friends over at GracieMag have the full story on the new Mestre do Combate, debuting November 22nd. Below we have some of the highlights.

Teams - Rickson’s organization will use a team format of some sort, akin to what the now defunct IFL used.

Rounds - There will just be two, like in the old Pride non title bouts. The first round will be ten minutes and the second will be five.

Cannot be saved by the bell - So this is interesting. “Fighters will not have the luxury of being saved by the bell: if a submission hold is in place when the bell sounds, they will have to defend or tap out first for the fight to end,” GracieMag reports. What do you think of this rule, nation? I think its a compelling idea, even if it could lead to some messy and uneven arbitrary implementation.

Directed by Bobby Razak, whom you may know as the man behind the amazing Tapout short film, The Future of MMA (that video is after the jump), The History of MMA takes a nostalgic look back at the highs and lows of the sport we love oh so much, and includes commentary from several legends of the sport, including Bas Rutten, Frank Shamrock, Mark Coleman, and referee Big John McCarthy among others. And as luck would have it, Mr. Razak decided to drop the trailer yesterday. We would advise that you check it out.

As you can see, the film touches on many of MMA’s most infamous moments; John McCain’s labeling of the sport as “human cockfighting,” its evolution through Pancrase, and the moment Tito Ortiz decided he had what it took to roc da mic right, yeah. On a side note, we bet Tank Abbott is gonna be pissed when he finds out that his name and photo appear whilst Bas Rutten describes how the UFC used to bring in “big guys with no skill.”

Who are we kidding? Abbott sold his computer for Jim Beam years ago.

Anyway, join us after the jump to check out The Future of MMA, as well as an up close and personal excerpt from The History of MMA featuring Fred Ettish, a fighter whom, after getting obliterated in his only professional mixed martial arts contest at UFC 2, came back to claim his first win in 2009. At age 53.

(Linka was always Peralta’s favorite Planeteer, but stealing her wind-based attacks?! The man is out of control!) 

Chalk one up for justice. When their original bout back at UFC on FOX ended via an accidental headbutt that knocked Mackens Semerzier out cold, Robbie Peralta was initially gifted a TKO victory. Referee Big John McCarthy and the audience alike were confused to say the least, but assumed that Peralta had managed to sneak in some sort of phantom punch in the mess of things. However, a quick look at the replay revealed a clash of heads to be the cause of Semerzier’s sudden case of narcolepsy, and “Mack Da Menace” immediately appealed the decision to the California State Athletic Commission. In a rare bit of good judgement, the commission sided with Sermizer and changed the bout to a no contest.

Now that all has been rightfully adjusted, these two featherweights are set to battle once again, this time at the UFC’s second FX event, which features a welterweight clash between Martin Kampmann and Thiago Alves as well as the debut of the UFC’s newly added flyweight division.

(Beast-Mode: He invented it.)

Thanks to everybody who submitted questions to Dan Severn last week! Today’s installment of Dan’s no-holds-barred Q&A column is loaded with classic stories and grown-man wisdom, so get comfortable and read on. You can support the MMA living legend by visiting DanSevern.com and Dan’s Facebook page, and you can support us by kicking in a few bucks to CagePotato’s Movember Team Page. Keep growing them mo’s, and post your latest moustache photos on our Facebook wall…

skeletor asks: Did you ever feel bad during the no holds barred/no weight classes days destroying guys that were so much smaller then you?

Dan Severn: I never felt bad because of size difference but I did sort of feel bad in general because it was not in my nature to be violent. For example, when I had Oleg Taktarov in the cage and was dropping knees on him, and he couldn’t defend himself. The match wasn’t being halted and he didn’t have the rational mindset to tap out. Even my first loss against Royce Gracie, I was staring right into a man’s soul realizing what crude submissions that I knew weren’t working and recognizing that I was going to have to strike this guy. So I struggled more with my conscience then I ever did with an opponent. I think I am cut from a different cloth than a lot of different fighters who came from checkered pasts and were used to getting into fights. I wasn’t used to that. For instance, if you look at the fight between me and Ken Shamrock, he was adopted and grew up on the mean streets fighting. My upbringing was completely different. I don’t really understand that mentality.

When I was inside Royce’s guard, from my perspective I was in the dominant position because as a wrestler, I was used to being on top. As I am fighting I can see Royce looking over to his father in his corner, and I could see exactly what was going through his mind. His mind was saying, “Hey dad, I’m hanging in here but if you want to throw in the towel, I wouldn’t hold it against you.” Helio actually had the towel in his hand and lifted his arm up a little bit and then shook his head no. I remember thinking, you old bastard…you would sacrifice your kid for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Veteran MMA reporter Loretta Hunt joins the show this week to talk about her latest book, “Let’s Get It On! The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee,” which she co-wrote with “Big” John McCarthy and is available in bookstores and on Amazon now.

Hunt touched on the process of crafting the story as well as some of the things she learned while interviewing the revered referee for the book among other topics.

By Jason Moles

Somewhere in the back your mind is a Mt. Rushmore of MMA, one for fighter and one for non-fighters. On the latter, you’d undoubtedly have Dana White in addition to your pick of Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr., Bruce Buffer, or Joe Rogan. However, you only get to pick two of the guys I’ve listed because the second spot on the mountain is reserved for the most recognized referee in all of MMA, “Big” John McCarthy.

No one has had a bigger impact on the sport of mixed martial arts without having actually fought someone or having the last name of Fertita or White. Few have stepped inside the Octagon more times than McCarthy and almost no one has helped grow the sport from birth to the dark ages and into the mainstream arena that it is in today. And you thought he just asked the fighters if they were ready and raised the winner’s hand?

“Big” John McCarthy was kind enough to sit down with CagePotato recently to discuss his new book ‘Let’s Get It On!‘ which can be purchased on Amazon. The book is 50% MMA history lesson, 50% autobiography, and 100% worth every penny spent to own a copy and every minute spent reading. So, without further adieu, let’s get it on!

(Video Courtesy of Patrick Kennedy)

Whether you’re interested in some fascinating firsthand accounts of the behind the scenes goings on in the early days of the UFC and the origins of some of MMA’s rules and regulations or you simply want to get to know one of the most important MMA figureheads the sport has ever known, you need to pick up a copy of “Big” John McCarthy’s “Let’s Get It On! The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee.”

The biographical account of McCarthy’s life as a son, brother, father, husband, police officer, coach and referee was co-written by acclaimed MMA reporter and the author of Randy Couture’s book, “Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage,” Loretta Hunt,  and has been lauded by several members of the MMA media as one of 2012′s must-read books for fans of the sport.

Loretta will be our special guest on this week’s episode of The Bum Rush Radio Show on Friday to talk about the book and we’ll have a review of the tome on the site next week.

Travis Fulton vs. Jeremy Bullock: just what the hell did they expect to happen?

“Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” -Samuel Beckett

Keeping those words from the first collection in our hearts, we’ve assembled the second installment of moments in MMA that some of us (mostly the athletes involved) would like to forget. The rest of us, we want to see those moments saved forever, preferably in a graphic format that loops endlessly.

First, get your mind right with a fight video from the dark ages of MMA, when any human with a pair of pajamas and some Tae Kwon Do could try that crazy ultimate fightin’ stuff. It was 1998, and Travis Fulton had already had over sixty fights. His opponent was Jeremy Bullock, a skinny guy that probably really liked Bruce Lee movies. Make sure to watch Bullock’s interview, where he shares his keys to victory with everyone, including Fulton. Also watch the fight, where Fulton shares his love for a good pro wrestling-style chokeslam with everyone, including Bullock. (Reportedly, Bullock thinks Bruce Lee is a fucking asshole these days.)

Once you’re done with that piece of history, come on in and we’ll share more moments of infamy, awkwardness, stupidity, and shame. It’s Fail GIF time, kids; let’s party.

As always, big ups, props, and mad respec’ to the GIF masters and the websites that host them: Chris Bunch o’ Numbers, Uncle Justice, Damn Severn, Zombie Prophet, Caposa, UpstandingCitizens, MMA-Core, IronForgesIron, and MMATKO. If we forgot you, it’s not on purpose.

“My thoughts concerning the state of Wisconsin repealing the collective bargaining rights of public employees? I’m glad you asked…”

Several recent, seemingly unrelated news stories in the MMA world have shared a common theme- unions. It’s the lobbying efforts of one union, Dana White insists, to blame for the UFC’s failure to gain a foothold in New York. And some pessimists credit a fear of unionized fighters–more than simple altruism–for Zuffa’s decision to provide accident insurance for its fighters. With all of the talk about a potential MMA Fighters Union, we took a moment to ponder who’s likely to throw their hat in the ring for union president…

(Is there anything Randy can’t do? No wonder he’s Joe Rogan’s hero)

When Randy Couture announced he would be retiring from MMA after his UFC 129 loss to Lyoto Machida, speculation about what “The Natural” would do next quickly began. Some guessed that Couture would be involved in initiating a fighters union while others hypothesized that the UFC Hall-of-Famer would be offered a job similar to the one bestowed upon Chuck Liddell after “The Iceman” called it a career last year.

MMAPayout is reporting that Couture, who wasted little time in diversifying his post-retirement portfolio is now a minority owner of the new Fight Now! TV combat sports-themed television network and will be involved with the specialty channel to an unknown degree moving forward.

(A megamix of every amazing thing Chael Sonnen said at yesterday’s UFC 117 press conference. Listen to all of it. You will never be the same. Props: MiddleEasy)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Famed Ref ‘Big’ John McCarthy to Return to Octagon at UFC on Versus 2 (MMA Fighting)

– Top 5 UFC Fighters Who Never Became Champions (LowKick)

– Mark Munoz Preparing for Three Round Battle Against Yushin Okami (Versus MMA Beat)

– Machida upcoming, Rampage eliminates key part of gameplan (Watch Kalib Run)

– John Howard, His 1994 Accord, And Sleeping Under A Ring (Heavy.com/MMA)

– At home with Dan Hardy and his cute, tatted-up girlfriend. (FIGHT! Magazine)

– Top Secret Ubereem: Public Misconceptions of MMA Fighters (MMA Scraps)

– Video tour of Fedor Emelianenko’s "Palace of Sport" (MMA Convert)

– Grappling With Issues: Jake Shields’s title prospects, Brock Lesnar’s star power, and Ken Shamrock’s legacy (Five Ounces of Pain)

(William Phelps Eno would be rolling in his grave if he knew he could have trademarked the shape of the stop sign he invented.)

You would think that with all of the bad press they’ve had in the past few weeks from the ludicrous delay in granting David Loiseau’s license for UFC 113 and the fallout from the Paul Daley sucker punch at one of their sanctioned events that the Régie des Alcools des Courses et des Jeux (RACJ) would want to stay under the radar for a while.

You’d be wrong.

Let’s Get It On! MMA, the new tournament format mixed martial arts promotion owned by Elaine McCarthy, wife of acclaimed referee “Big” John McCarthy kicks off its first season tonight in Canada. Featuring tournaments in two weight classes – welterweight and lightweight – the winner of each division of the round robin will earn a contract with Strikeforce to compete in their Challenger series as well as a $25,000 paycheck.

Speaking to Sportsnet MMA columnist James Brydon, McCarthy, who was the event coordinator at several early UFC events explains that tourney will split time between Edmonton, Alberta and Gatineau, Quebec and will feature nine events. She says that although there are other promotions out there that follow the tournament format, none feature a region versus region format like LGIO.

You know that show "NCIS: Los Angeles," right? No, it’s not the one where David Caruso takes off his sunglasses over and over. That’s "CSI: Miami." And it’s not the one with Lt. Dan from “Forrest Gump.” That’s "CSI: NY." And it definitely isn’t the one with Scott Baio and the chick from "Baywatch." That was "Charles in Charge" and sadly it’s been gone for some time now. No, "NCIS" is the one with LL Cool J and a bunch of cameos from Strikeforce fighters who mostly mill around in the background. At least, that’s what this promo would have me believe.

CBS’s latest genius idea (let’s not forget this work of art) to promote the upcoming Strikeforce event in Nashville on April 17 is to take a bunch of fighters and stick them in a show that’s normally about, I don’t know, solving crimes or something. But hey, if "News Radio" could work in an MMA storyline, any show can.

This week Sports Illustrated Online is looking at refereeing issues in mixed martial arts (you can read my defense of MMA’s refs here), and I got an opportunity to talk with “Big” John McCarthy about his thoughts on the state of officiating in our sport.  We also talked a little about the evolution of rules in the UFC, and the difference between rules that came about out of practical concerns and those that were changed to appease political opponents.

While I expected McCarthy to know more about refereeing MMA bouts than anyone else alive, I didn’t expect him to have such an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport.  The guy can rattle off the names of the fighters in almost every bout he’s ever worked from UFC 2 onward.  He also had a few great insights about the nature of the sport and what it demands from referees.  Here are some select excerpts from our conversation, just for you guys:

So tell me, when you went in to work your first bout at UFC 2, what guidelines were you given?

BJM: (laughs) The guidelines I was given were, ‘Don’t stop the fights.  The fighters will tap out or the corners will throw the towel in.  That’s how the fights will stop.’  That’s honestly how I got my job, because the very first UFC fight ever, Joao Barreto was the referee.  Teila Tuli was down and got kicked by Gerard Gordeau, and Joao stopped the fight and Rorian Gracie was upset because that wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

(Say what you will about Big John, he could rock the black track pants and latex gloves with the best of them.)

The Los Angeles Times takes a look at various cheating methods in combat sports today, from the illegal substance in Antonio Margarito’s glove to the Vaseline on Georges St. Pierre’s body.  The message here is that cheating, or “gamesmanship,” as Bert Sugar charitably tags it, is nothing new.  

But of interest to MMA fans are remarks from former UFC referee “Big” John McCarthy, which suggest that greasing problems have persisted for some time now, and that it’s no big secret, either:

"Guys will push the envelope in every way possible," former UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said of mixed martial arts fighters. "Vaseline has always been an issue in MMA. It’s a real problem."

McCarthy has seen MMA fighters come into the octagon after taking a bath filled with soapy water or even baby oil. "You can’t notice it when they’re dry, but when they get on the ground and start to sweat, it starts to come out of their pores," McCarthy said.

(Photo courtesy of The Fight Network.)

Strikeforce‘s upcoming “Destruction” card will feature such well-known fighters as Josh Thomson, Yves Edwards, Renato Sobral, Joe Riggs, and Kim Couture, but the biggest star will surely be the third man in the cage. Sherdog reports that beloved MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy is returning to what he does best after a year-long hiatus that saw him retire from the UFC, take an analyst spot at The Fight Network, then leave it when things went FUBAR — and his first stop will be San Jose’s HP Pavilion on November 21st. The last match McCarthy reffed was the main event bout between Roger Huerta and Clay Guida at the TUF 6 finale last December; it was his 535th since his debut at UFC 2 in March 1994. As he told Sherdog:

“I missed doing it. Sometimes when you walk away from something and you think it’s time, once you’re away you realize what you’re missing — it’s kind of like why guys come back to fighting. It’s what I like doing. It’s what I was meant to do.”

Though he didn’t rule out an eventual return to the Octagon, it’s clear that his days as the UFC’s mascot are pretty much over. On where he might be reffing after “Destruction,” he said:

(Props: bigraydaddy)

Most Big John fans know that the veteran UFC ref was a former LAPD officer; he joined the force in 1985, and has served as a tactical self-defense instructor since 1993. But in April/May 1992 — two years before he made his Octagon debut at UFC 2 — McCarthy was part of the police effort to control the chaos that struck Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict. Catch a glimpse of his pre-”Let’s Get It On!” life in the above video, at the 0:00-0:01 and 0:49-0:51 marks. Rug shampooers FTW.

(Gerard Gordeau stomps Kevin Rosier in the semi-finals of UFC 1. Image courtesy of Real Fighter.)

In honor of the upcoming 15th anniversary of UFC 1, Real Fighter magazine has published an incredible oral history called “Starting a Fight,” where all the fighters and organizers involved share their memories about the watershed event. You can (and should) download the article at BloodyElbow. Our favorite bits are below…

***

“Big” John McCarthy: I had put in my application for it. Rorion said, “What are you doing? You can’t fight. You’re with us. When Royce is done, we’ll put you in there.”

Rorion Gracie: We thought of a ring that had a moat and we could put alligators on the outside, [or] chariots running around the ring and dropping the fighters off, people with trumpets and Roman togas announcing them. This is Hollywood.

Art Davie: I don’t think I came up with the moat idea. But the electrified copper fence was mine.

McCarthy: Jimmerson said, “How in the world do you think Royce is going to beat me when I’m flicking out a jab? He can’t get past that.” We went into a back ballroom area and I grabbed him in a double leg and put him on the ground. He looked up at me and said, “Oh, my God. He’s going to break my arms and legs, isn’t he?”

Ken Shamrock: Tuli goes down to his knees and Gerard kicks him in the mouth and his teeth go flying into the front row. Prior to that, everyone [backstage] was hitting pads and trying to hide their fear. It went dead silent.

As you may have heard, the Association of Boxing Commissions got together in Montreal recently to discuss unified rules for mixed martial arts. Initially, this sounded like a good idea. They finally nailed down exactly what it means to strike to the back of the head, for example, which is long overdue. But inexplicably, they also came up with a bunch of new weight classes. And by new, we don’t just mean that they added some lighter weights, though they did that too. They also added new divisions between the divisions, such as 175 and 225 pounds, to name just two. This was immediately blasted as a bad idea by almost everyone who matters.

“No, we’re not following that,” Dana White told Yahoo! Sports.

“The weight classes in New Jersey are going to stay according to the original unified rules,” said Nick Lembo, counsel for the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

“Where did it need to be fixed?” said Bernie Profato, of the Ohio State Athletic Commission. “I’ve had over 300 MMA fight (cards) in the state of Ohio. … Not one time have we ever heard, ‘Hey, we’ve got to change these weight classes.”

In other words, most everyone agrees that it’s a bad idea. Not only is it unnecessary, but the people who the ABC would depend on to adopt and legitimize it — state athletic commissions, the UFC — are totally against it. This begs the question, who’s for it? The answer: Big John McCarthy.

The former UFC referee told MMA Junkie that because more people were getting into the sport, more weight classes would eventually become necessary:

(Ken-Flo)

— The UFC has released the official lineup for the televised portion of Ultimate Fight Night 13. Despite the ongoing petition to stretch it into three hours, the broadcast is still scheduled for two, with only four fights guaranteed airtime at this point: Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon, Thiago Alves vs. Karo Parisyan, Tim Boetsch vs. Matt Hamill (nice!), and Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin.

— The Zyen/Zuffa/Xyience situation is really starting to slip out of our comprehension, but it looks like the judge in Xyience’s bankruptcy case has allowed the Fertitta’s made-up company Xyen to continue making bail-out loans to the dying supplement-maker. Oh, what a tangled web we weave when trying to sustain a company we used to secure a fraudulent loan…

— Via Fightlinker: Big John McCarthy has started holding MMA refereeing seminars to pay the bills. Think you got what it takes to call a dangerously late stoppage? Put up 500 bones and prove it!

— Via BloodyElbow: This letter sums it up for all the pissed-off Canadians who are being frozen out of UFC 83.

— Arianny Celeste stopped by Jarry Park for a special Valentine’s Day interview and discussed her offer to pose nude in Playboy. Arianny, whatever they’re offering you, we’ll double it.