Let’s Get It On!: The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee (Spirit of the River Series)

An intimate profile of the legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) referee, this first full-length autobiography of popular culture icon “Big” John McCarthy details each and every aspect of his life—from his strong-handed Los Angeles upbringing to his involvement in the naming of the sport, his role in its regulation, and MMA’s rise in stature. The narrative follows “Big” John through his 22-year career as a Los Angeles police officer, where he taught recruits arrest and keep an eye on procedures in addition to survival tactics, then his 15-year career as MMA’s premier official in the chain-linked cage. A fixture of the sport, “Big” John began refereeing at UFC 2 in 1994 when MMA was once in its infancy and went on to officiate at each and every major UFC event but two until 2007. Following a one-year hiatus as a color commentator and on-camera analyst for MMA and boxing events, he returned to MMA refereeing in 2008. In his own words, “Big” John relates his insider’s point of view from the midst of most of the sport’s greatest moments—from Tito Ortiz–Ken Shamrock I at UFC 40 in 2002 to Randy Couture–Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March of 2007—together with his account of the birth of the sport in The us, its evolution, and MMA’s ongoing struggles for acceptance.