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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 "Bigβ John McCarthy details every aspect of his lifeβfrom his strong-handed Los Angeles upbringing to his involvement in the naming of the sport, his role in its regulation, and MMAβs rise in stature. The narrative follows "Bigβ 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 MMAβs premier official in the chain-linked cage. A fixture of the sport, "Bigβ 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 insiderβs perspective from the midst of many of the sportβs greatest momentsβfrom Tito OrtizKen Shamrock I at UFC 40 in 2002 to Randy CoutureTim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March of 2007βalong with his account of the birth of the sport in America, its evolution, and MMAβs ongoing struggles for acceptance.
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