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Medallion Press
September 2011
On Sale: September 1, 2011
480 pages
ISBN: 1605421413
EAN: 9781605421414
Kindle: B005G5EMMG
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Sports
An intimate profile of the legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) referee, this first full-length autobiography of pop culture icon "Bigโ John McCarthy details every aspect of his lifeโfrom his strong-handed Los Angeles upbringing to his involvement in the naming of the sport, his role in its regulation, and MMAโs rise in stature. The narrative follows "Bigโ John through his 22-year career as a Los Angeles police officer, where he taught recruits arrest and control procedures as well as survival tactics, then his 15-year career as MMAโs premier official in the chain-linked cage. A fixture of the sport, "Bigโ John started refereeing at UFC 2 in 1994 when MMA was in its infancy and went on to officiate at every major UFC event but two until 2007. Following a one-year hiatus as a color commentator and on-camera analyst for MMA and boxing events, he returned to MMA refereeing in 2008. In his own words, "Big" John relates his insiderโs perspective from the midst of many of the sportโs greatest momentsโfrom Tito Ortiz–Ken Shamrock I at UFC 40 in 2002 to Randy Couture–Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March of 2007โalong with his account of the birth of the sport in America, its evolution, and MMAโs ongoing struggles for acceptance.
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