UFC Heavyweight Champion Jones has made his feelings about one renowned MMA referee, and it seems that the feeling is mutual.
Although Jones is generally seen as the goat in the leading promotion of mixed martial arts, his career has certainly not been without controversies.
From failed drug tests to numerous arrests, the former light heavyweight King's antics outside the Octagon have often landed it in hot water.
And for an experienced figure of the sport that dealt with Jones and thousands of other athletes, the signs of immature and problems were there early.
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John McCarthy told Jon Jones that a DQ would wait him if he repeated backstage act in the cage at UFC 140
After Jones Mauricio Rua had eliminated the UFC Light Heavyweight title and then to submit 'Rampage' Jackson to defend it, he met the legendary Lyoto Machida in December 2011.
Jones cheated Machida memorable with a standing guillotine before ruthlessly dropped the unconscious body of the former champion. The referee who watched over the match, John McCarthy, remembered the brutal finish during a recent episode of his weighing in Podcast.
The veteran official was apparently not surprised about the controversial reaction of Jones to 'The Dragon' who came out, given an incident of the night earlier.
“When I came up to grab, in an attempt to let go of Jon's arms to take the pressure from the choke, he decides to really let go, and so I had no control over Machida at the time,” said McCarthy. “I thought:” Yes. “Something happened to that fight that had told me the level of Jon's maturity. “
After some pushing of his fellow hosts, McCarthy announced the disturbing details, claiming that Jones had simulated a “sexual act” with an unconscious grappler from the committee.
“I'm going in the back and I only talk to every hunter,” said McCarthy. “When I entered Jon's dressing room, he bounces around, have a good time.
'[He says]”I have a question for you.” … he says, “I need someone.” There was a person there and that person was a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and worked for the committee. He [Jones] Says, “Will anyone come to the ground for me?”
“This guy, like a groundman and someone who is like this:” Man, I'm in the dressing room of Jon Jones, this is great, “he says,” Oh, I'll do it for you. ” … Jon decides to do a sexual act with him.
“I said,” Jon, knock it off, “and I help the person … and he goes,” but really, what could you do? ” I said: I could be unsporting.
Jon Jones asked John McCarthy referee not to have his planned UFC 200 fight
It was clear what 'Bones' thought of the experienced official years later when he asked for a change in referee before his planned title fight against Daniel Cormier on UFC 200.
The manager of Jones contacted the Nevada State Athletic Commission to express their concern about the allocation of McCarthy to the fight, and the resident of Rochester explained his dissatisfaction during a media Scrum days of the event.
“I prefer every other referee except him,” Jones said. “It has been a mixture of many things over the years. Only the energy. I don't feel that we have the best energy, and it has been an accumulation of some things that happened during some fighting and only our personal interactions.
“This is my life for me. This is my story. This is my legacy. This is all for me, and if I do not agree with his energy that he brings before the fight, if I was him, I would not want to be part of it … Why would you even want to be a part of someone's big night that you don't want with them?
“I would just hope he is not the referee.”
It turned out to be a non-issue after Jones was removed from the competition after a doping violation.
Jones will officially remain an active hunter, although it is about his retirement. In the meantime, John McCarthy hung up his UFC referee gloves in 2018 and then gave a color commentary in Bellator.
With that in mind, the days of the heavyweight are champion who are concerned about having 'big john' as the third man in the Octagon firmly behind him. And given the recent comments of Jones about Aspinall, his days may be trending in the same way.