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UFC veteran's scathing remarks on legendary MMA referee 'Big' John McCarthy have left Joe Rogan shocked.
During the #158 MMA Show of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, UFC pioneer David 'Tank' Abbott claimed that the MMA official had a vendetta against him, which led to McCarthy and his wife using their leverage to kick him out of the promotion.
During the segment, Abbott blasted McCarthy saying:
"He is corrupt and he is a crook. His idea of what he thinks fighting is, he is a full-on submission guy because he is all into technique... he's all into skill and everything else. He has no respect for fighters' fortitude."
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Rogan, however, interjected, defending the referee, suggesting that McCarthy is not all that bad and the 59-year-old feels the way he does perhaps owing to some personal issue he has had with the official in the past.
'Tank' Abbott however refused to back down and continued:
He leveraged his made-up persona, 'Big' John, to get me kicked out of the show. Him and his wife, they got me literally kicked out of the show."
Catch David 'Tank' Abbott's comments on John McCarthy below (1:22):
Upon hearing the UFC veteran's scathing remarks, a shocked Rogan asked why the seasoned referee campaigned against him.
According to Abbott, McCarthy primarily had two issues with him. For one, he fancied technical exchanges as opposed to 'Tank's' brawler style. Secondly, the official's history as a cop made him frown upon Abbott's chequered history with the law.
'Tank' is a former UFC heavyweight title challenger and has faced bonafide MMA legends including Don 'The Predator' Frye, Maurice Smith, and Vitor Belfort, among others.
Check out the full podcast below:
When David 'Tank' Abbott told Joe Rogan "two of his favorite things to do"
Back in his fighting days, David Abbott was always ready for a scrap whether or not he had enough time to prepare for it. And many a time 'Tank' was far from prepared for it, owing to his two conflicting favorite activities.
During a 1997 post-fight interview with Joe Rogan after his loss to Maurice Smith, 'Tank' proudly proclaimed his two favorite activities, while discussing why losing didn't matter to him:
"As of last Saturday, I stepped off a barstool and I stepped into the octagon tonight. I haven't been training, I've been partying, two of my favorite things to do... F**k it, I don't give a f**k about a beating. It doesn't mean anything to me. I fight for the fun and that's it."
Catch Joe Rogan's 1997 interview with David 'Tank' Abbott below:
