UFC Quick Quote: 'Big' John McCarthy responds to accusation that he's an overpriced 'celebrity referee'

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"As far as 'Celebrity Referees,' that is a line used by Dale (Kliparchuk) and Brian (Beauchamp) in their letter and now they have talked Mark Pavelich into using the same line. I have worked one MFC show and was not paid by Pavelich for working the show. I was paid by the Enoch Nation which owns River Cree. If I have a promoter contact me about working their show it is my right to ask for whatever fee I feel is fair. Most of the time that promoter is using my name to help promote their show and I should be compensated for that because it goes beyond the normal scope of the job. Now they are using you to help possibly sell tickets. If a commission contacts me and asks me to work a show for them I accept whatever fee the commission pays. Have I ever made $10,000 to work a show, No. I have made different amounts of money throughout my career. Last night I worked a show and made $280 for the night. This entire thing is about Brian being a person that wants to be a referee in the UFC. Someday he may attain that goal, but he is not close to being ready yet. although he believes he is. Mark Pavelich does not ever have to pay for a referee or official other than one assigned by an athletic commission at the rate that the commission pays their officials. All commissions are different, but if Mark wants to have a Herb Dean, Dan Miragilotta or John McCarthy work his event at his request, then they should be able to say how much their services are worth. If he does not like the price then he does not have to hire them, because nobody is forcing him to. Hope you appreciate the truth. I do not hide behind screen names you know who I am. I wish this could be said of everyone."

Longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) referee John McCarthy takes to  The Underground to respond to a recent accusation by Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) President Mark Pavelich that a small group of MMA officials were using the recognition of their names and "catchphrases" to charge exorbitant fees (upwards of $10,000) to promotions who were forced to use them as referees for local events. "Big" John contends that's not the case and that a promotion is only responsible for paying the standard commission fees -- unless they request a specific referee whose appearance may help promote their event based on name recognition. Anyone taking sides in this battle between promoter and ref? Let's get it on!