'Big' John McCarthy Expects New Role with PFL, Bellator Following Acquisition

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In recent years, “Big” John McCarthy was a consistent presence on Bellator MMA broadcasts.

That is likely to change following Professional Fighters League’s purchase of the California-based promotion. McCarthy, who was a longtime official before transitioning to the broadcast table, will remain with the company but expects that his role will change in the coming months.

“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 told MMAjunkie.com. “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, scoring 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.”

In addition to a career as a referee, McCarthy helped to develop the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts and as a result, has been a prominent voice when it comes to regulation of the sport.

Meanwhile, the first event since the acquistion is set for Feb. 24 in Saudi Arabia, as PFL champions will meet Bellator champions on a pay-per-view card. While Bellator is still expected to continue running separately, McCarthy says he won’t be part of any broadcast plans for either organization.

“They [the PFL] 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.

“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.”