Heart Over Money: “Big” John McCarthy Explains His Return to the Cage

“Big” John McCarthy has opened up about his decision to return to the world of MMA officiating. McCarthy recently announced that he would be stepping away from MMA media and returning to the cage. After working as a commentator, analyst, and podcaster in recent years, he said he has missed being the third man in the Octagon and is looking forward to getting back where he belongs.

"I hear everyone say, 'Oh, it's about money,' and I'm like, 'Money? That's hysterical.' I'm going back to what's not money, but it's what I love doing," McCarthy told MMA Junkie Radio. "I sit here and analyze and try to make people understand what other guys are doing and why it's all good. But I left – I never retired. I'm leaving to take another job, and that was because my neck was screwed up. My neck was really bad and I couldn't lift my arm. I had three operations on my neck to try to get it right. I looked at it and said, you know, I can't do this the right way, and if I can't do it the right way, there's no point in doing it.

"At that time, Bellator, with Scott Coker, came in and made me a great offer to keep me relevant and be able to stay with the sport I love, so I took that. But I never said I was retired (from refereeing). That's the best part. I did it on purpose. I always knew I would eventually try to go back if I was physically capable of doing it, and now I'm physically capable of doing it. It's a matter of I love active refereeing, I love the judging, and everything officiating."

While McCarthy has enjoyed breaking down fights with former UFC and Bellator star Josh Thomson on his podcast Weighing In, he says that doing media work and officiating at the same time would present a conflict of interest.

"There are things that have to change," McCarthy said. "First off, I stepped away from the podcast that I was doing with Josh Thomson, which I love doing. ... I had to step away because I can't do that and do the officiating correctly because you have to talk about people, and now I'm in that position. I'm not here to talk about fighters or fights or tell someone what I think they should do."