No plans for Saturday night? Maybe you could hang out with John McCarthy: the sport’s most recognizable official told Sherdog.com that he won’t be working UFC 104 in Los Angeles this weekend. This despite having officiated several hundred UFC bouts, being licensed in California, and generally having as much business in between two angry prizefighters as anyone on the planet.
You can guess that McCarthy’s absence from the Octagon may stem from his critical comments about the UFC during his broadcasting stint and after “retiring” from refereeing. Either the California Athletic Commission perceives a possible conflict of interest -- no official should comment on the business practices of fighters or promotions -- or the UFC has broadcast word that they don’t want him around.
If it’s the former, the CSAC is correct in discouraging their freelance employees from offering critiques -- but McCarthy was not a referee at the time. His role as a commentator was to have an opinion, and he gave it. And if it’s the latter? I find it unlikely the UFC is making edicts about officials: it would be a lurid, cheap move by a promotion that’s often bemoaned boxing’s lurid, cheap moves. But if they did feel like squeezing, they’re in luck: the CSAC has an open-door policy on controversy.