What Happened to UFC Referee Big John McCarthy? (2024)

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What Happened to UFC Referee Big John McCarthy? ›

Retirement from UFC Refereeing and Transition to Bellator

“Big John” McCarthy worked as a referee for many years and was arguably the most popular referee to work UFC events given his long tenure and quality work. McCarthy stepped away from refereeing and joined Bellator as a commentator in 2018, where he's been commentating fights alongside Mauro Ranallo since.

He was held in captivity until release on 8 August 1991. He shared a cell with the Irish hostage Brian Keenan for several years. While a prisoner, he learned that his girlfriend, Jill Morrell, was actively campaigning for his release, launching a group called "Friends of John McCarthy".

Referee Vyacheslav Kiselev removed from UFC 267 event after questionable officiating. ABU DHABI -- In a rare move, UFC removed a referee from its UFC 267 event Saturday, immediately following his performance in a preliminary welterweight bout.

For preliminary fights, a typical UFC referee can expect to earn between $500 and $1,000 per fight. As the stakes of the fights increase, so does the compensation. For main card fights, the pay range can jump to between $1,000 and $2,500 per fight.

Journalist John McCarthy was held hostage in Lebanon for more than five years. Now, three decades on, he's helping others in similar situations through his role as Patron of Hostage International.

McCarthy coined the term artificial intelligence in 1955, and he created the computer programming language LISP in 1958. LISP was initially used primarily by the AI community, owing to its great flexibility due to its expressive power.

Amazingly, it wasn't all gloom and doom. Much of his captivity he shared his cell with Irish lecturer and philosopher Brian Keenan.

After McCarthy's release on 8 August 1991, the couple remained together until 1994, and wrote a joint memoir, Some Other Rainbow, but they parted amicably. McCarthy subsequently met BBC photographer Anna Ottewill, and they married in April 1999.

John McCarthy nominally retired at the end of 2000 but remained very active in developing and documenting new ideas. He passed away at age 84 at his Stanford home on 24 October 2011.

What UFC ref was fired? ›

This egregious display of officiating prompted UFC executive Marc Ratner to remove Kiselev from his scheduled assignment for the main card fight between Volkan Oezdemir and Magomed Ankalaev. The experienced Marc Goddard was brought in as a replacement.

If the referee feels that a fighter has conducted themselves in an unsportsmanlike manner, they may stop the action of the fight to deduct points or stop the bout to disqualify the fighter.

While the typical earnings range from $1,000 to $5,000 per event, the total annual income for a UFC Ring Girl can reach up to $1 million, especially for the most popular ones. Arianny Celeste, for example, stands out as the highest-paid octagon girl, with her annual earnings estimated at around $1 million.

According to several reports, Herb Dean earns an annual income of approximately $500,000 as a mixed martial arts referee. Dean's unparalleled expertise and reputation as one of the top referees in the industry contribute to the premium compensation he receives.

Beltran, 50, had good reason to quietly slip away behind-the-scenes, however. The veteran referee focused on recovery from surgery where over a foot of his colon was removed in an effort to combat diverticulitis, he revealed on social media Friday along with a picture of a gnarly post-surgery wound.

McCarthy spent some time as an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department, retiring around 2008. In 1993, he became involved with the newly created Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighting tournament. He was the referee for UFC 2, launching a career as a UFC referee.

One of those men was Ron McCarthy, son of famed MMA referee, judge, and officiating instructor 'Big' John McCarthy.

Apart from being bilingual, a Marine Corps veteran, a detective, and an exceptional MMA official, Mike Beltran sports a lengthy mustache that makes. him impossible to miss at UFC events.