Big John McCarthy, the referee who has been one of the most prominent faces in mixed martial arts for almost as long as the UFC has existed, talked to me Tuesday for a wide-ranging interview in which he discussed his feelings about returning to MMA after a long layoff, and his thoughts about his 15-year career in the sport.

McCarthy, who sat out most of 2008 while working as a commentator for The Fight Network, says he didn't feel any ring rust when he got back into the cage. I also asked him about working last month's Fedor Emelianenko-Andrei Arlovski fight, about the chances that he could work again as a referee in the UFC, about becoming famous enough that Round 5 has made figurines in his image, and about his own choice for the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The full interview is below.

MMA Ref Big John McCarthy Is Back, and He Feels No Ring Rust originally appeared on MMA FanHouse on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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