"She did nothing wrong" - John McCarthy criticizes fans for bad-mouthing Liz Carmouche in light of Mike Beltran stoppage debacle
![Joh McCarthy (left) and Liz Carmouche (right) [Image Courtesy: @JohnMcCarthyMMA on Twitter and @iamgirlrilla on Instagram]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/04/f3d08-16508825102931-1920.jpg?w=500)
Referee John McCarthy doesn’t agree with fans bad-mouthing Liz Carmouche after her win due to a referee stoppage at Bellator 278. In his mind, she didn't do anything wrong and thus, shouldn't be placed under the heavy fire of critique.
During his Weighing In podcast on Youtube, the former MMA referee said:
“I feel bad for Liz. Because Liz went out there and all Liz did was what she was supposed to do. She went after winning the fight. She got a great position, she went after landing the shots and the referee pulled her off. She did nothing wrong. And there’s people that are badmouthing her now when she didn’t do anything wrong.”
Watch John McCarthy’s take on the controversial stoppage of Bellator 278 main event in 25:33 of the video below:
‘Big John’ said that he spoke with Julianna Velasquez and told her that she should protest the outcome of the title fight since Mike Beltran admitted that he made a mistake. In McCarthy's opinion, the Bellator 278 headliner should be declared a no-contest, a loss should be deleted from Velasquez’s record and both fighters should meet one more time inside the Bellator cage.
The whole controversy took place during the Bellator 278 headliner, when Mike Beltran stopped the fight in the fourth round while Liz Carmouche was utilizing some ground and pound in the crucifix position. In the eyes of many fans, the stoppage was premature as Velasquez was still trying to defend herself.
Bellator posted the footage of the stoppage in question on promotional social media:
Your new flyweight champ is @IAmGirlRilla!
Liz gets it done tonight with a hard-fought win at #Bellator278. https://t.co/u7c4p4NK5V
Liz Carmouche defended Mike Beltran’s decision to stop the fight
During the Bellator 278 post-fight media scrum, Liz Carmouche was asked about the stoppage in question. In her opinion, Mike Beltran made the right choice to stop the fight. She said:
“Yeah i think he stepped in at the right time. I think if he’d let it continue it could have been a broken orbital. It could been her going unconscious. I think that when he stepped in it was the right thing to do. To protect the fighter. Because she wasn’t doing anything to correctly advance her position safely. She wasn’t doing anything to defend… I think he did a right thing.”
Watch Carmouche speak about referee Mike Beltran stopping the fight in 1:39 of the video below:
Beltran stopped the fight in the closing seconds of the fourth round when Liz Carmouche was on top of Juliana Velasquez. ‘Girl-Rilla’ was dropping elbows on Velasquez's head and the referee had to step in and call off the title fight.