Longtime MMA referee turned Bellator MMA commentator John McCarthy has come forward with his thoughts on the recent controversy from UFC on FOX 28.
Team Alpha Male’s Josh Emmett faced off against Alliance MMA’s Jeremy Stephens in the main event of UFC on FOX 28. Stephens ultimately earned a finish over his opponent, but the victory has since come under some controversy.
Stephens struck his opponent with a series of elbows and a knee to the head that have since come under criticism as potentially being illegal blows. It has since been reported that Emmett is now looking to appeal the loss.
“Big” John McCarthy has now come forward to offer his thoughts on the matter. Speaking to MMA Junkie, McCarthy spoke his mind.
“How do we get a fighter so confused over rules that they don’t know what the hell they can do or when they can do it? That’s our problem. And that has been created by athletic commissions. We have a bunch of athletic commissions out there that have screwed things up because ‘I don’t like this rule, I want to be different.’ And you being different has screwed over every fighter there is. Congratulations, you’re the ones that create this problem.”
“There’s going to be a re-chamber. “When the knee comes up, it’s coming back. And we can’t go off of it coming back. It’s, does it hit him when it’s being brought forward as a tool to end this fight? It absolutely hits him.
“The question is, did it hurt him? No. I don’t believe that’s what hurt him. What hurt him was a beautiful left hook, then a couple elbows. … It puts him down.”
“Just the action itself tells you that’s illegal. But you’ve got to say, the action, and did it touch him? (Those) are the two questions, as the referee, that you’ve got to put together. Dan knows the action is illegal. His question is, ‘Did that touch him? I’m not sure.’ That’s what I’m going to go with. ‘I’m not sure it touched him, and if I’m not sure, I don’t want to stop this action, because I can’t say that it did touch him.’ And he let the action go.”
