Let's Get It On!_ The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee - Big John Mccarthy [83]
Taking a fight to the ground was a big component of MMA, and sitting there I realized society was not conditioned to accept that. I couldn’t draw from a single existing sport where a competitor could do it.
THE ORIGINAL 17
No Biting
No Eye Gouging
No Headbutting
No Hair Pulling
No Groin Attacks
No Throat Strikes
No Kicking a Downed Fighter
No Stomping a Downed Fighter
No Fish-Hooking
No Placing of the Fingers in a Cut
No Small Joint Manipulation
No Pressure Point Attacks
No Holding On to the Cage
No Throwing of an Opponent out of the Cage
No C-Clamping the Throat or Trachea
No Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Gloves Must Be Worn
We were wasting our breath with Hindery, which meant we were officially off the air.
Posing in a catalog for Body Alive, a fitness clothing company owned by my friend Bob Donnelly
THE THIRD MRN
When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself.
—Jacques Cousteau
I have never considered myself a celebrity, and I don’t think I ever will. I didn’t become a referee to get famous. I did it because I loved the sport I saw emerging out of those early shows and wanted to be a part of it. I never imagined it would take me on the wonderful adventure it has, and I know how lucky I was to be in the right place at the right time. Still, the added attention has been something I’ve struggled with from day one.
The first time I was asked for an autograph was at UFC 2. I thought the fan was stupid for asking for it, and I felt stupid giving it to him. I was the referee, not a fighter. I wasn’t a big deal. The fighters who got in the cage were the ones who deserved all the attention. I was just the third man, the third wheel. I thought a good referee did his job without bringing attention to himself. Period.
But at each show, fans would continue to hand me their event programs to sign or ask me to pose for photographs. After a couple shows, it dawned on me that the people coming to see the UFCs were spending their hard-earned money not just to watch some good fights but to take in the whole experience. If they approached me and wanted to take a picture or get an autograph, it was little skin off my ass. I owed it to them and the sport. If it made them feel good, who was I to deny them?
The one request I don’t usually fulfill is saying, “Let’s get it on,” outside the cage. I’ve said it at the end of radio spots or for video games and for other marketing purposes I feel help propel the sport forward. I even said it when Zuffa allowed a die-hard couple to get married in the Octagon in Las Vegas the day before UFC 36. But most of the time, I politely decline. I don’t like to throw around the phrase. When I say it, two fighters are about to put their lives in my hands and I’m letting them know I’m on the job, I’m paying attention, and I’ve got their backs.
The first wedding ever held in the Octagon: I told the couple to “Get it on.”
Over the years, being an MMA referee has afforded me some interesting opportunities outside the cage. I’m continually surprised when people notice me at the airport or in the gym or on the street. I’m told I have one of those faces. I can’t explain what it feels like to have people stare at you when you enter a restaurant or the movie theater before they finally ask, “Are you that referee in that fighting thing?” Most of the time, people make me laugh because they are so genuinely enthused.
It’s a pleasure to be able to see fans respond to the sport firsthand. I’m a lucky guy, and I know it. I do get extra attention and always have people to talk to who love MMA as much as I do.
But it goes both ways. I have been bombarded by fans at hotels and casinos during fight weekend and had to leave my family alone so they could walk around