Unpopular opinion: John McCarthy is overrated

[mmaknight]

He literally helped form the rules the refs follow today....

SMH

Obligatory:

You ready...you ready...lets get it on!!!..come on

 

[TheNinja]

I don't agree with that. The guy is a huge reason why UFC and MMA could make it through some of the early days. He was learning on the job with no blueprint really. I don't really remember him making that many screws ups compared to other refs.

 

[HavokHarmon]

By todays standard he’s probably below average in these clips but I don’t think that’s a fair way to judge them. Not only did he not have other refs to watch and learn from, the rules were miles away from being clear. Different states sanctioned different things, hell UFC 9 wasn’t even supposed to allow closed fist strikes (although I believe there were some thrown and no one was penalized but still).

Being a good ref is hard even today. Back then it was basically impossible.

 

[xn7]

he sucks

 

[Anaconda99]

Every 8th word he utters is lookit. Once you know you cant unhear it.

 

[bean88]

He absolutely loves himself and thinks he’s the shit, don’t care much for him at all in Bellator but luckily I barely watch it so it’s no big deal

 

[cade187]

He thinks he invented MMA because he helped write the rules. I personally can’t stand the guy.

 

[Iroh]

Everybody is overrated and underrated. Deal with it.

 

[kellier]

For a long time he was the best ref out there

 

[wwkirk]

Not wanting to hate on the guy, especially as he's retired, but he's praised by so many, I'm guessing since he's been in the game for so long, but imo that man carries too much ego with him in the cage.

And seeing the old fights before Zuffa, he was kind of bad at refereeing, of course now referees have access to more training, but he has had so many years of experience and didn't show an amount of knowledge that I'd expect from it.

In the end, he was an okay ref.

What do you think?

Also in this one some people say that he wasn't allowed to stop a fight, but he did stop fights on the same card so I'm not sure about that.

Who are you comparing him to? Who were the superior refs back then? I don't agree with comparing refs between eras because expectations, from all relevant parties including fans, change. Depending on the eras in question, even the rules may be different.

I only started watching MMA when the UFC started airing on Spike, yet the norms for reffing already seem considerably different. In particular, what's considered a late or an early stoppage over the past several years is noticeably different than it used to be. And that goes both for actual reffing and the perceptions of fans.

 

[Kiss My D’arce]

Personally…

most overrated ref is Marc Goddard. Constantly gets way too over-involved in the fights, loves making it about him.

most underrated - Jason Herzog. A real no-nonsense, straight to business kinda guy. He doesn’t talk much, just shows up to work and does a great job every time.

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

I don't like his personality or him as a commentator but his knowledge of the sport is proven and I think he's one of the few people that "get" MMA, how to ref and how to judge.

As a ref, I can count on one hand the number of times I've see him screw up and he owns it. He seemed to always give guys a chance to recover but never let them take too much damage. He always seemed to stop fights at the right time.

Some people felt he was a little too full of himself and would insert himself into fights but I never really saw that unless he felt someone was breaking the rules.

 

[Deceasedxo]

Classic 'unpopular opinion' where the ts posts an opinion that a lot of people have. Good work.

 

[Fatback96]

As a commentator, he has the rare skill of somehow making the action less desirable to watch.

 

[TheNinja]

I don't like his personality or him as a commentator but his knowledge of the sport is proven and I think he's one of the few people that "get" MMA, how to ref and how to judge.

As a ref, I can count on one hand the number of times I've see him screw up and he owns it. He seemed to always give guys a chance to recover but never let them take too much damage. He always seemed to stop fights at the right time.

Some people felt he was a little too full of himself and would insert himself into fights but I never really saw that unless he felt someone was breaking the rules.

This. People are taking their dislike for his personality and his arrogance and applying it to his reffing.

I think he’s a bad commentator and he’s arrogant. But he was and is a good ref. He always had control of the situation and made you feel comfortable. I’m sure the fighters felt the same.