Bellator announce referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy for commentator role

'Big' John McCarthy is after landing himself a Bellator commentary gig.

Famed MMA referee 'Big' John McCarthy has been announced as a colour commentator for Bellator MMA. The promotion announced the hiring of McCarthy in a press release issued on Tuesday. McCarthy who is also the founder of "C.O.M.M.A.N.D.," a program that trains and certifies hopeful MMA referees and judges and was a key figure in the writing of the sport's Unified Rules, spoke excitedly about his new role.

"I first want to say how grateful I am for the opportunity I have been given to work with the incredible team Bellator has assembled. It is always so hard to leave something you love, but I have always wanted to step away based on my terms rather than someone else's. "My goals are to work as hard as I can to meet the expectations everyone will have for me and to hopefully someday exceed them. I cannot think of anyone I would rather be working with than Scott Coker. Scott has always been a person I admire because of his honesty, loyalty and love for the martial arts."

https://twitter.com/ScottCoker/status/950789941558153217

"I want to thank everyone from Bellator and Viacom for the trust you are bestowing upon me to keep the commentating of Bellator MMA at the highest levels of the sport."

Bellator star Chael Sonnen also signed an extension to remain Bellator's broadcast team which also includes announcers Mike Goldberg and Mauro Ranallo. McCarthy will make his commentating debut at the Bellator 192 PPV on January 20, headlined by a welterweight title fight between Douglas Lima and Rory MacDonald. Sonnen takes on Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson in the first round of the heavyweight tournament on the undercard which also features Aaron Pico's third professional fight. ESPN's Brett Okamoto is reporting that Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed McCarthy has retired from officiating. https://twitter.com/bokamotoESPN/status/950796764465922048 Interestingly, the card will go up against UFC 220, which is headlined by the highly-anticipated heavyweight title fight between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. A light heavyweight title clash between Daniel Cormier and Volkan Oezdemir will provide the support act.