John McCarthy confirms he won’t work as commentator for PFL, explains new role

January 23, 2024 2:40 pm ET

John McCarthy is not going anywhere following PFL’s acquisition of Bellator. However, his role will change.

McCarthy, a retired veteran combat sports referee who helped create the Unified Rules of MMA, will not work as a commentator for PFL or its Bellator-branded events. Instead, McCarthy will be aiding the commentators and broadcast team in terms of explaining and clarifying topics to the public from a rules and regulations standpoint.

McCarthy confirmed the change in an interview with MMA Junkie Radio.

“I am going to be staying with the PFL because I had a contract with Bellator, and it still has a year on it, so the PFL picked that up,” McCarthy explained. “Will my role be the same? I don’t think it’s going to be the same.

“I think it’s going to be more towards rules and regulations, soring the fights and doing those things – making sure everyone understands what’s being done, if it’s being done in the correct way and what options do the officials have.”

“Big John” McCarthy worked as a referee for many years and was arguably the most popular referee to work UFC events given his long tenure and quality work. McCarthy stepped away from refereeing and joined Bellator as a commentator in 2018, where he’s been commentating fights alongside Mauro Ranallo since.

He’s excited about his new role under the PFL and happy to be aiding a broadcast team he respects.

“They have great commentators with Sean (O’Connell), Randy (Couture) and Kenny (Florian) being their color guys,” McCarthy said. “They even have Dan Hardy. So they’re kinda staffed there, so I was like there’s no place for me, but they actually came to me and said, ‘Hey, we have big ideas.’ So right now I get to stay with the PFL.

“I look at it: It’s the PFL, they absorbed Bellator and yes, there’s still a Bellator, and they just announced Bellator vs. PFL in Saudi Arabia. It’s a fantastic card and I can’t wait to see it come to fruition.”

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