Today the Nevada State Athletic Commission revealed the appointment of referees and officials for UFC 200 which takes place in Las Vegas on July 9th, including Big John McCarthy as the referee for the main event. The main event features a light heavyweight title unification bout between interim champion Jon Jones and defending champion Daniel Cormier.
MMAFighting spoke to the executive director of the Nevada Commission, Bob Bennett, who revealed that his selection of McCarthy was in question when Jon Jones’ management expressed concern, but ultimately he kept him in the main event spot:
“Earlier this morning, I did receive at 8:18 an e-mail from the Jones camp, from Mr. (Malki) Kawa, expressing his concerns regarding referee John McCarthy in this fight,” Bennett said. “Upon review of his complaints or his concerns, I did some research, and I certainly respect the comments that he made, but I do not think they are significant enough to deter me from moving from my initial recommendation.”
McCarthy, a man considered to be the godfather of MMA judging, was ultimately selected by the commission to oversee Cormier-Jones 2 by a unanimous vote. The judges assigned to the match were Las Vegas regulars Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato, and Glenn Trowbridge.
