Although he no longer works in the cage -- and is on the outs with the UFC -- the most famous referee in the history of mixed martial arts is Big John McCarthy. I think most UFC fans know that Big John was chosen for the job because he was an L.A. police officer who worked as a self-defense instructor, but I don't think many people have ever seen him in action as a cop. Until now:
Via Cage Potato and bigraydaddy.
That was McCarthy, at the very beginning of the clip and about 50 seconds in, working on the streets during the L.A. riots of 1992. I'm sure after that, getting between Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell was a piece of cake.
Interestingly, those riots may never have happened if Big John had ever worked with the four officers who beat Rodney King -- a big part of Big John's job was to teach jiu jitsu techniques to police officers so that they could subdue suspects without having to use their batons or their guns.
After the jump, watch the definitive Big John McCarthy highlight video.
Via Cage Potato and bigraydaddy.
That was McCarthy, at the very beginning of the clip and about 50 seconds in, working on the streets during the L.A. riots of 1992. I'm sure after that, getting between Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell was a piece of cake.
Interestingly, those riots may never have happened if Big John had ever worked with the four officers who beat Rodney King -- a big part of Big John's job was to teach jiu jitsu techniques to police officers so that they could subdue suspects without having to use their batons or their guns.
After the jump, watch the definitive Big John McCarthy highlight video.