Let's Get It On!_ The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee - Big John Mccarthy [112]
“I wasn’t tapping, John,” Lindland said as I separated them.
UFC 36
“Worlds Collide”
March 22, 2002
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada
Bouts I Reffed:
Frank Mir vs. Pete Williams
Matt Hughes vs. Hayato Sakurai
Randy Couture vs. Josh Barnett
Matt Hughes delivered the best performance of his career in the Octagon, repeatedly slamming dangerous Japanese legend Hayato Sakurai into oblivion.
Randy Couture mostly controlled a much bigger and younger Josh Barnett for the first three rounds of their heavyweight championship match. But Barnett turned things around by grounding and pinning Couture against the fence, where he landed huge shots that hurt Couture until I jumped in to stop it. Afterward, Barnett tested positive for steroids and hasn’t fought in the UFC since, which is a tragedy because he was and still is one of the best heavyweight fighters in the world.
In that moment, I made another big mistake: I doubted my call.
While 8,000 vocal Louisiana fans looked on, instead of being decisive and sticking to my first call, I decided to restart the bout.
At the time, I didn’t have the ability to restart the fight from the grounded position the fighters had been in; I had to stand them up and restart them from their corners. That was completely unfair to Bustamante, who’d been on the verge of winning the fight on the mat, but I did it anyway and immediately felt terrible about it.
Despite my intervention, the right man found the win that night. In the third round, Bustamante trapped Lindland’s neck with a guillotine choke, and Lindland clearly tapped out this time.
When I left the cage, Elaine said something she rarely does about my refereeing: “You screwed up.”
In my heart, I knew she was right.
When I reviewed the video, I saw I’d been right the first time and Lindland had tapped out. I’d been duped, but the blame was on me for caving on my original call. Referees don’t always make the correct calls, but they need to stand by them in that moment no matter what. I had to make sure I never got caught up in that type of situation again.
UFC 37.5
“As Real As It Gets”
June 22, 2002
Bellagio Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
Bouts I Reffed:
Robbie Lawler vs. Steve Berger
Benji Radach vs. Nick Serra
Chuck Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort
This six-fight event was thrown together in a week, when the UFC got the opportunity to air its first live fights on cable for FOX Sports Network’s The Best Damn Sports Show Period. This was another big break forthe UFC and the sport, but the fighters had to come through with appealing performances. Both Lawler and Liddell stepped up to the plate with victories as exciting as Zuffa could’ve hoped for. Held in an intimate ballroom in the Bellagio with about 2,000 fans, the event had a certain electricity not felt at the larger arena shows.
UFC 38 “Brawl at the Hall,” the promotion’s first venture into England, was held in London’s 5,000-seat Royal Albert Hall. MMA had a small but loyal fan base in the United Kingdom, and a couple smaller local promotions were grooming talent. The UFC had also secured a minor TV deal in the United Kingdom to air past events, something not yet achieved in the United States.
The Royal Albert Hall was far different from any other UFC venue to date. It was essentially an opera house, with red velvet curtains and box seats on all sides. Not exactly what you’d picture when you think of fighting. I know it had never been intended to hold fights, but it really felt like the Roman days to me. A day before the show, several of us stood in the middle of the Octagon and yelled out, “Are you not entertained?” Silly, yes, but still pretty cool.
Of the matches, Ian Freeman’s victory over Frank Mir was probably the most potent. Having appeared at UFC 24, 26, and 27, Freeman, a native