UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has made his feelings about one renowned MMA referee known, and it would seem the feeling is mutual.
While Jones is widely seen as the GOAT in mixed martial arts’ leading promotion, his career has certainly not been without controversies.
From failed drug tests to numerous arrests, the former light heavyweight king’s antics outside the Octagon have frequently landed him in hot water.
And for one veteran figure of the sport who has interacted with Jones and thousands of other athletes, the signs of immaturity and trouble were there early on.
John McCarthy told Jon Jones a DQ would await him if he repeated backstage act inside the cage at UFC 140
After Jones knocked out Mauricio Rua to win the UFC light heavyweight title and subsequently submitted ‘Rampage’ Jackson to defend it, he ran into the legendary Lyoto Machida in December 2011.
Jones memorably choked Machida out with a standing guillotine before ruthlessly dropping the former champion’s unconscious body. The referee watching over the bout, John McCarthy, recalled the brutal finish during a recent episode of his Weighing In podcast.
The veteran official was seemingly unsurprised at Jones’ controversial reaction to ‘The Dragon’ going out given an incident from earlier in the night.
“When I came up to grab, trying to release Jon’s arms to take the pressure off the choke, he decides to really let go, and so I didn’t have control of Machida at the time,” McCarthy said. “I thought, ‘Yep.’ There was something that happened in the back before that fight that had told me the level of Jon’s maturity.”
After some pushing from his co-hosts, McCarthy went on to disclose the disturbing details, alleging that Jones had simulated a “sexual act” with an unaware grappler from the commission.
“I go in the back and I talk to each and every fighter on their own,” McCarthy said. “When I went into Jon’s locker room, he’s bouncing around, having a good time.
“[He says], ‘I got a question for you.’ … He says, ‘I need somebody.’ There was an individual there and that individual was a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and was working for the commission. He [Jones] says, ‘Will somebody get on the ground for me?’
“This guy, being a ground guy and being somebody who’s like, ‘Man, I’m in Jon Jones’ locker room, this is great,’ he says, ‘Oh, I’ll do it for you.’ … Jon decides to do a sexual act with him. He’s saying, ‘What if I do this? This isn’t illegal right?’ The guy who was on the ground, quickly his eyes get as big as they could get.
“I said, ‘Jon, knock it off,’ and I help the person up…and he goes, ‘But really, what could you do?’ I said, ‘I could disqualify you for being unsportsmanlike. Go ahead and do it, let’s see what happens.’ This is why Jon and I never really got along; because I didn’t put up with his s–t.”
Jon Jones requested not to have John McCarthy referee his planned UFC 200 fight
It was clear what ‘Bones’ thought of the veteran official years later when he requested a change in referee for his scheduled title fight against Daniel Cormier at UFC 200.
Jones’ manager contacted the Nevada State Athletic Commission to express concern over the assignment of McCarthy to the fight, and the Rochester native explained his displeasure during a media scrum days out from the event.
“I would prefer any other referee but him,” Jones said. “It’s been a mixture of many things throughout the years. Just the energy. I don’t feel like we have the best energy, and it’s been an accumulation of some things that was happening during some fights and just our personal interactions.
“For me, this is my life. This is my story. This is my legacy. This is everything to me, and if I don’t agree with his energy that he brings to the fight, if I was him, I wouldn’t want to be a part of it. … Why would you even want to be a part of someone’s big night that doesn’t want you in there with them?
“I would just really hope he’s not the referee.”
It ultimately turned out to be a non-issue after Jones was removed from the bout by USADA after a doping violation.
Jones remains officially an active fighter, though talk of his retirement continues. John McCarthy, meanwhile, hung up his UFC refereeing gloves back in 2018 and went on to provide color commentary in Bellator.
With that in mind, the heavyweight champion’s days worrying about having ‘Big John’ as the third man inside the Octagon are firmly behind him. And given Jones’ recent remarks about Aspinall, perhaps his days fighting are trending the same way.