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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Big John McCarthy's here to straighten some folks out

By: Allan Besson

13/11/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

MIKE.APORIUS@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Enlarge Image

Ultimate fighting referee Big John McCarthy will be in the ring tonight at the Convention Centre.

In case you've had your head stuck the sand for the past 20 or so years with regard to mixed martial arts, Ultimate Fighting Championship's Big John McCarthy is in town to straighten you out on a few things. For instance, MMA is not a spinoff from 20-30 years ago when a group of good old boys would rent a farmer's field and stage a so-you-think-you're-tough competition.

Actually, the retired 22-year veteran of the Los Angeles police is here as a guest referee for the Canadian Fighting Championship 3 card tonight at the Convention Centre beginning at 7 p.m.

For the last 14 years, the 6-foot-4, 240-pound McCarthy has been the world's pre-eminent mixed martial arts referee. He has worked nearly 600 bouts worldwide, including the Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock I at UFC 40 in 2002, and Randy Couture-Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in 2008.

"Mixed martial arts is a combination of different types of martial arts," McCarthy said. "In the beginning it was putting them together to see which one was the actual best martial art for self-defence. It was putting a kick-boxer against a wrestler, or a jiu-jitsu guy against a boxer, to see what actual style ended up best in that kind of competition. Now all the fighters have to utilize multiple styles, kick, wrestle, jiu-jitsu. It's like a decathlon of martial arts. You have to be good at all the elements to be successful."

McCarthy will be the third man in tonight's main event pitting heavyweights Rodrigo Munduruca of Winnipeg (via Rio de Janeiro) and Dan Christison of New Mexico. He'll also warm up by officiating a few of the 10 undercard bouts, including the welterweight (170 pounds) tilt between Dan Grandmaison and Claude Patrick, both out of Eastern Canada.

McCarthy went on to refute another myth: the "misconception," that some people believe MMA is brutal. "In any combat sport, whether it is hockey, football, boxing, or MMA, if you take a great fighter and put him against someone who can't fight, that is brutality, because it is not competition," he said.

"But when you take two people who are trained at what they do, and are pretty equal in skills, it is no difference if they are fighters in MMA, tennis players or poker players. Everyone who thinks they are the best wants to compete against another person to prove how good their skills are. That is what MMA is."

The sport has surpassed both professional boxing and wrestling in popularity, especially in the younger age groups, and McCarthy believes he knows why. "With today's kids, everything is bigger, better, faster and more enticing as far as the element of danger is concerned.

"Boxing is like a pillow fight. They have two guys with pillows on their hands and all they can do is punch. With MMA though, they have smaller gloves, but they are allowed to do a whole lot more than just punch."

Tickets for tonight's card are $40, and available through Ticketmaster.

allan.besson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 13, 2009 C7

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