Tony
10-06-2008, 15:28
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"Big" John McCarthy will propose legalizing knees to the head of a grounded opponent when the Association of Boxing Commissions meets for its annual convention July 2-5 in Montreal. McCarthy, who retired from officiating in December, made the revelation during Sherdog.com's Beatdown radio show on Monday.
"It's a good technique," said McCarthy, who refereed 535 matches during his 15-year career. "It's a very effective tool, and it opens fights up."
The most recognized referee in the game has met privately with ABC representatives in the last few months to discuss amendments to the sport's Unified Rules of Combat. The ABC will unveil their efforts at its annual gathering, where its membership of nearly 80 state and tribal athletic commissions throughout North America will review them.
McCarthy also addressed the controversy surrounding referee Dan Miragliotta, who was criticized for his officiating in the Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson-James Thompson (Pictures) main event at EliteXC "Primetime" on May 31 in Newark, N.J., and the Brandon Vera (Pictures)-Fabricio Werdum (Pictures) heavyweight matchup at UFC 85 on Saturday in London.
"A lot of people are all over Dan," McCarthy said. "Refereeing - it's opinion. Some people are going to look at you and say, ‘You're right,' and some people are going to look at you and say, ‘You're wrong.' We're all human."
Miragliotta made what many viewed as a crucial error in judgment in the Ferguson-Thompson bout on CBS, when he forced the fighters to stand after Thompson had passed Ferguson's guard and secured side control on the ground in the second round.
"When your opponent gets to side control, there are very few things you can do," said McCarthy, who was offered the chance to officiate the Ferguson-Thompson fight. "When you take a fighter out of side control, you're giving the advantage to one fighter over another. James was in a dominant position, and Dan stood them up."
Miragliotta again found himself in the spotlight over the weekend, when he halted the match between Vera and Werdum at UFC 85. Werdum, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, had achieved a dominant position and was striking from the full mount, though Vera appeared to be deflecting most of Pride Fighting Championships veteran's shots when Miragliotta intervened with 20 seconds to go in the first round.
Vera lashed out at the referee in a post-fight press conference.
"That ref sucks," he said. "I'm pissed."
McCarthy admits Miragliotta left himself open for criticism.
"Would I have stopped the fight? No, I wouldn't," McCarthy said. "You've got to give Brandon a chance to get out of that position, and you've got to give Fabricio the chance to make it a definitive victory."
Miragliotta, however, was not the only referee around which questions swirled. Herb Dean (Pictures)'s decision-making was the subject of post-fight analysis, too, after he penalized Nate Marquardt twice in his middleweight showdown with Thales Leites (Pictures). Marquardt was docked for throwing what was clearly an illegal knee in the second round and was penalized again in the third for an elbow that looked clean on replays. McCarthy described an illegal strike to the back of the head as one that lands from the crown of the head to the base of the spine with a one-inch variance on to each side of the centerline. McCarthy referenced a mohawked fighter to illustrate the illegal area.
"Was it illegal?" McCarthy asked in regard Marquardt's elbow. "No, it wasn't."
McCarthy also pointed out that nothing was said about Marquardt's pile driver at the end of the fight in which he hoisted Leites and spiked him on his head - a move that was blatantly illegal under unified rules.]
"That's one throw you cannot do," McCarthy said. "The only other time I've seen it was when Bob Sapp (Pictures) did it to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) in Pride."
McCarthy maintains an active role in helping to improve judging and officiating at MMA events. He railed against the current establishment in the sport and said he retired as a referee because of the "good old boys" network that existed within some athletic commissions.
"I left because people were put into positions based on who they know, not what they know," McCarthy said. "It really drove me nuts. I did not want to be a part of that. It's a problem within our sport, and it needs to change."
"Big" John McCarthy will propose legalizing knees to the head of a grounded opponent when the Association of Boxing Commissions meets for its annual convention July 2-5 in Montreal. McCarthy, who retired from officiating in December, made the revelation during Sherdog.com's Beatdown radio show on Monday.
"It's a good technique," said McCarthy, who refereed 535 matches during his 15-year career. "It's a very effective tool, and it opens fights up."
The most recognized referee in the game has met privately with ABC representatives in the last few months to discuss amendments to the sport's Unified Rules of Combat. The ABC will unveil their efforts at its annual gathering, where its membership of nearly 80 state and tribal athletic commissions throughout North America will review them.
McCarthy also addressed the controversy surrounding referee Dan Miragliotta, who was criticized for his officiating in the Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson-James Thompson (Pictures) main event at EliteXC "Primetime" on May 31 in Newark, N.J., and the Brandon Vera (Pictures)-Fabricio Werdum (Pictures) heavyweight matchup at UFC 85 on Saturday in London.
"A lot of people are all over Dan," McCarthy said. "Refereeing - it's opinion. Some people are going to look at you and say, ‘You're right,' and some people are going to look at you and say, ‘You're wrong.' We're all human."
Miragliotta made what many viewed as a crucial error in judgment in the Ferguson-Thompson bout on CBS, when he forced the fighters to stand after Thompson had passed Ferguson's guard and secured side control on the ground in the second round.
"When your opponent gets to side control, there are very few things you can do," said McCarthy, who was offered the chance to officiate the Ferguson-Thompson fight. "When you take a fighter out of side control, you're giving the advantage to one fighter over another. James was in a dominant position, and Dan stood them up."
Miragliotta again found himself in the spotlight over the weekend, when he halted the match between Vera and Werdum at UFC 85. Werdum, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, had achieved a dominant position and was striking from the full mount, though Vera appeared to be deflecting most of Pride Fighting Championships veteran's shots when Miragliotta intervened with 20 seconds to go in the first round.
Vera lashed out at the referee in a post-fight press conference.
"That ref sucks," he said. "I'm pissed."
McCarthy admits Miragliotta left himself open for criticism.
"Would I have stopped the fight? No, I wouldn't," McCarthy said. "You've got to give Brandon a chance to get out of that position, and you've got to give Fabricio the chance to make it a definitive victory."
Miragliotta, however, was not the only referee around which questions swirled. Herb Dean (Pictures)'s decision-making was the subject of post-fight analysis, too, after he penalized Nate Marquardt twice in his middleweight showdown with Thales Leites (Pictures). Marquardt was docked for throwing what was clearly an illegal knee in the second round and was penalized again in the third for an elbow that looked clean on replays. McCarthy described an illegal strike to the back of the head as one that lands from the crown of the head to the base of the spine with a one-inch variance on to each side of the centerline. McCarthy referenced a mohawked fighter to illustrate the illegal area.
"Was it illegal?" McCarthy asked in regard Marquardt's elbow. "No, it wasn't."
McCarthy also pointed out that nothing was said about Marquardt's pile driver at the end of the fight in which he hoisted Leites and spiked him on his head - a move that was blatantly illegal under unified rules.]
"That's one throw you cannot do," McCarthy said. "The only other time I've seen it was when Bob Sapp (Pictures) did it to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) in Pride."
McCarthy maintains an active role in helping to improve judging and officiating at MMA events. He railed against the current establishment in the sport and said he retired as a referee because of the "good old boys" network that existed within some athletic commissions.
"I left because people were put into positions based on who they know, not what they know," McCarthy said. "It really drove me nuts. I did not want to be a part of that. It's a problem within our sport, and it needs to change."