John McCarthy is speaking out after Tim Kennedy claims his controversial loss to Yoel Romero ended his fight career

John McCarthy is speaking out after Tim Kennedy claims that his controversial loss to Yoel Romero ended his fight career.

Tim Kennedy (18-6 MMA) fought Yoel Romero (15-7 MMA) way back in 2014 at UFC 178.  The result was a TKO loss for Kennedy. John McCarthy was the referee of record for that fight.

On the nine-year anniversary of UFC 178, Kennedy took to ‘X’, accusing McCarthy of mismanaging the situation that September:

Robbery anniversary and the end of my fight career.

Dear Nevada Athletic Commission. NAC 467.728 If a combatant fails or refuses to resume competing when the bell sounds…the referee shall award a decision of TKO.

— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 27, 2023

“Robbery anniversary and the end of my fight career. Dear Nevada Athletic Commission. NAC 467.728 If a combatant fails or refuses to resume competing when the bell sounds…the referee shall award a decision of TKO.”

McCarthy took to ‘X‘ to respond to Kennedy saying:

“Tim you are an amazing person and I truly wish the very best life has to offer both you and your family. Perhaps I could of done something differently during your fight. I wish I had the forethought to envision this exact situation before it ever occurred and that way I may have handled it differently. But you are not stating facts about what occurred. Yoel was told to stay seated by the NSAC Inspector. The truth is the Cutman hired and paid for by the UFC did not re-enter the cage when summoned to do so and that is what held up the start of the 3rd round. It is not Yoel’s fault that this occurred and the Cutman is not part of Yoel’s official corner. Language barriers did not help as well. It’s egregious to penalize a person when they are not at fault and that is why there were no point deductions nor DQ. Was it completely fair to you? No I don’t believe it was, but there are times when there is no perfect solution in the moment. I hope the very best for you in all that you do.”

Image via @weighinginsow on Instagram

It was the loss to Romero that snapped Kennedy’s four fight winning streak. Kennedy went on to fight Kelvin Gastelum (18-8 MMA) in December of 2016 at UFC 206 but lost via TKO as well. Following the defeat, Kennedy retired from the UFC.

Kennedy, 44, responded directly to McCarthy on ‘X’ saying:

“I’m super happy I’m done fighting and this fight brought in the end. So thank you for that. You failed to mange control of what was happening in the cage. The entire Yoel team played you like a fiddle and got what they wanted… more time to recover.”

While happy, Kennedy is still blaming McCarthy for the demise of his career.

Do you remember UFC 178? Do you believe McCarthy should hold some responsibility for ending Kennedy’s career?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!