'Big' John McCarthy details why Dana White and the UFC will never do a cross-promotional event
John McCarthy recently commented on the possibility of UFC President Dana White joining forces with other MMA promoters for a cross-promotional event.
McCarthy believes that this is unlikely to occur, as the UFC is widely regarded as the premier promoter in the sport. Despite Bellator and RIZIN's successful collaboration on New Year's Eve in Japan, McCarthy does not think that White will follow suit.
McCarthy believes that the UFC would have nothing to gain from a cross-promotional event. According to the former referee, it would only feed the competition, and the UFC would not benefit from it.
Appearing in a recent clip from his podcast show, he said:
"He [Dana White] did try it. He did, you know, with Pride [organization]. Back, you know, with Chuck Liddell and Ricco Rodriguez and things like that...and he didn't get anything in return, you know. They said, 'Oh we're gonna send over Sakuraba [Kazushi Sakuraba], but they [Pride] never did...so he [Dana White] was like, 'I got burnt. I'm not gonna allow someone to burn me again.'"
White further stated:
"So he looks at it now like, 'Hey we are the biggest organization.' He [Dana White] is absolutely right... And... 'What's it do for my organization?... What does it do for me as the promoter?'... and he is saying that, 'It's only a benefit for the other promotions, and I'm not here to benefit them.' And so his [Dana White's] choice is to say, 'I'm not going to do it.'"
However, John McCarthy proposed that the UFC should take part in a cross-promotional event by sending lower-tier fighters from their top 15 rankings due to the potential publicity such fights would generate.
Check out John McCarthy's comments on the matter below:
John McCarthy weighs in on Henry Cejudo's chances against Aljamain Sterling
On another episode of his popular Weighing In podcast show, host McCarthy discussed the comeback fight of Henry Cejudo against Aljamain Sterling.
Big John asserted that people are underestimating 'Triple C's ability to take on the reigning bantamweight champion. He argued that Cejudo has had plenty of experience competing at the highest level of the sport.
The 60-year-old said:
"You guys are making a huge mistake [by underestimating Cejudo]. This is a guy that knows exactly who he is, what he needs to do, and where he needs to be in. He will get there 'cause he's done it his entire life at the highest level."
While John McCarthy is confident in Cejudo's skills, he worries that the break from fighting could have an impact on his ability to beat 'Funk Master':
"My only concern is the long layoff, which kind of bothers me a little bit because he [Cejudo] is gonna lose that fight pace timing, but 'Aljo' also doesn't fight at an extremely fast pace. He does in the first round, he's got a lot of movement and stuff, but he's gonna have to be very careful with Cejudo."
Check out John McCarthy's comments on the rumored fight between Henry Cejudo and Aljamain Sterling in the video below [1:22:41 mark]: