"Big" John McCarthy
Big John McCarthy is probably the best known MMA referee in history. Besides being the #1 referee for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he also works for the Los Angeles Police Department where he is a Tactical Self-Defense Instructor at the Los Angeles Police Academy. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu under Rorion Gracie since the early 1990's.
McCarthy went to work for the Los Angeles Police Department in 1985, following in the footsteps of his father, who worked as a police officer for many years. In August of 1993, McCarthy was awarded his Tactics & Self-Defense Instructor Certification by the LAPD, and has been a self-defense instructor for them ever since that time.
Known for his trademarked "Let's get it on!" shout and the beginning of each fight, Big John himself is an imposing figure in the octagon. He earns his nickname because he is a big guy, and well able to handle control of the octagon. According to a 2006 interview, Art Davie (UFC Co-Founder) was the first person to give him the name, after he lifted Davie off of the ground rather easily.
Big John's connection the the UFC is due to his relationship with the Gracie family and his training under Rorion. It is said that when Rorion Gracie was getting ready to start the new fighting promotion (UFC) in 1993, John McCarthy was interested in fighting for the UFC, but Rorion advised against it because it would be the possibility of John McCarthy fighting Royce Gracie. However, due to his law enforcement experience, McCarthy was seen as a perfect man to be referee some wild fights.
The early UFC events didn't have many rules, and basically John McCarthy's job was just to supervise the matches make sure that it ended as soon as a fighter tapped out, got knocked out, or the towel had been thrown in. Eventually the referee's role included the stopping of a bout when a fighter is no longer intelligently defending himself. When Big John McCarthy is officiating a fight, that cage belongs to him. He's not afraid to get in amongst the top fighters in the world to break up a fight or do whatever needs doing. He is a wealth of knowledge about the sport.
John McCarthy ref'd nearly every fight from UFC 2 through UFC 31, when the company started bringing in other ref's to work, but Big John is still the best known and is a major component of the UFC.
In September of 2006 John McCarthy opened his first MMA training school in Valencia, California. It is considered to be one of the largest facilities of it's kind in California where students can learn Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and more.