Let's Get It On!_ The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee - Big John Mccarthy [62]
If a man does his best, what else is there?
—General George S. Patton
When I was sworn in as a Los Angeles police officer, I took an oath to protect and serve my community. For me that boiled down to one thing: I protected good people. Fighters were good people too. However, the rules laid out by the UFC didn’t allow me to protect them. And if I couldn’t do that, what was the point of being a referee?
When I saw Rorion at the gym again shortly afterward, I’d already made up my mind. “I’m never going to referee another UFC event again,” I said.
“Why?” Rorion asked.
The answer was simple: “You’re going to get somebody killed.”
I could see the surprise on Rorion’s face, but I didn’t think I was overreacting at all. I’d already seen a lot in my life. I knew what real fights were and how far they could go. I’d gotten jumped by a group of people while trying to defend a friend, and I understood what it was like to reach a point when your mind says, You can’t win this; you’re done. The human body can take a lot of punishment, but the brain eventually shuts off.
As an officer, I’d seen people get stomped to death, and if you’ve ever seen this yourself, you don’t forget it. The head crushes and deforms, and the scary thing is that it doesn’t take a ton of pressure for it to happen. I didn’t want to stand there in the cage dreading that if I let it go just one more blow, that might happen. I couldn’t stand by as a fighter reached his breaking point and his corner refused to throw the towel. I wouldn’t stand there and let that happen.
“Look, you care about your brother, and I understand that, but these other guys don’t understand what they’re getting into. They believe they’re these awesome martial artists, their corners think they’re going to kill people, and they get punched in the face one time and fold like a cheap tent. They won’t tap out because their brains are too scrambled. And their corners won’t throw in the towel because they’re just too fucking stupid. I know someone’s going to get seriously hurt.”
Rorion wasn’t convinced. He was so concerned about making sure early stoppages never happened that he was overlooking the obvious dangers.
“I’m not saying stop the fight because of a cut or the first sign of damage, but I am saying there will be situations when we need to step in.” I said, “A fighter should be able to intelligently defend himself, and when he can’t the fight should be over.”
Rorion said he would mull it over.
I left Rorion’s office knowing I could be replaced easily. Rorion could make a quick phone call and get someone else who’d follow his guidelines to a tee. But as much as I wanted to stay involved with the UFC, going along with what had happened at UFC 2 went against what I believed. Walking away was a decision I could live with.
One thing I had on my side was the public’s immediate reaction to the UFC. While UFC 1 had 86,000 pay-per-view buys, UFC 2 jumped past that with 124,000 purchases. With virtually no marketing, this was just short of a broadcasting miracle. Apparently Rorion was so anxious to put on another show in September that finding another referee wasn’t his highest priority.
When we talked about it again a week later, Rorion proposed that I could stop a fight only if someone either was too hurt to tap out or was already knocked out. In one of the biggest sport-influencing negotiations to ever happen outside the cage, Rorion and I debated terms that we would be comfortable with.
First, he said, “You can stop the fight at certain times.”
However, it was all or nothing for me. “Either I can stop the fight as soon as a fighter can’t intelligently defend himself, or I’m out of here.”
Rorion thought for a moment, then said, “We’ll give it a try.” And “intelligently defending oneself” entered the MMA vernacular.
Another seed was planted about this time that would sprout deep roots and cause issues for the UFC later. The morning of UFC 2, WOW and SEG had managed to score an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America. They sent the promotion’s most familiar