Let's Get It On! The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee

An intimate profile of the legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) referee, this first full-length autobiography of pop culture icon "Big" John McCarthy details every aspect of his life--from his strong-handed Los Angeles upbringing to his involvement in the naming of the sport, his role in its regulation, and MMA's rise in stature. The narrative follows "Big" 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 the MMA's premier official in the chain-linked cage. A fixture of the sport, "Big" John started refereeing at UFC 2 in 1994 when the 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 insider's perspective from the midst of many of the sport's greatest moments--from Tito Ortiz-Ken Shamrock I at UFC 40 in 2002 to Randy Couture-Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March of 2007--along with his account of the birth of the sport in America, its evolution, and MMA's ongoing struggles for acceptance.

“Big” John McCarthy is a former police officer with the Lost Angeles Police Department and a preeminent mixed martial arts (MMA) referee. He was inducted into the Masters Hall of Fame in 2006 for his outstanding achievements in the martial arts and is the first recipient of the World MMA Awards’ Lifetime Achievement accolade. Loretta Hunt is a journalist who has penned more than 3,000 articles on all aspects of mixed martial arts. In addition to serving as the news editor for www.sherdog.com, she is a contributor to ESPN.com’s Daily Line and an on-air correspondent for the site. She is the coauthor of Becoming the Natural: My Life In and Out of the Cage. They both live in Valencia, California. Bas Rutten is a former MMA fighter known as El Guapo, an actor, an author, and a TV commentator. He is a former UFC heavyweight champion, the weekly co-host of HDNet’s Inside MMA, and the author of Bas Rutten’s Big Book of Combat, Volume 1 and Volume 2. He lives in Southern California.