Former MMA referee John McCarthy weighed in on the upcoming bantamweight bout between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili. The bantamweight contenders are set to headline UFC Vegas 71, which is scheduled to take place on March 11 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels.
During episode #329 of his Weighing In podcast, McCarthy and Josh Thomson analyzed the matchup between the two. He mentioned that there is a contrast in their respective fighting styles, which could make for an intriguing matchup:
“Merab against Yan is just a fantastic matchup. Definite contrasting styles and it’s a matter of can Merab get Yan to the ground, use his superior grappling – cause he is the better grappler – and he’s got a pace. He brings the pressure throughout the fight.” {17:51 – 18:10}
The Bellator commentator and podcast host also laid out a path for the former UFC bantamweight to defeat ‘The Machine’. He mentioned that ‘No Mercy’ will need to stick to his striking and win the exchanges, saying:
“He {Petr Yan} needs to get into the touch-touch. Just keep on making him feel this. Making him miss, fight off the takedowns. But I love this, number-two versus number-three.”
McCarthy and Thomson also brought up that it’s an exciting time for the UFC bantamweight division because of how stacked it is and former champion Henry Cejudo is back in the mix as well.
John McCarthy and Josh Thomson discuss possibility of Luke Rockhold joining Bellator
During episode #329 of their Weighing In podcast, ‘Big’ John McCarthy and Josh Thomson spoke about Luke Rockhold’s free agency after the UFC granted his release.
Thomson brought up that Rockhold reached out to him and told him that he will be in attendance at Bellator 290 on February 4. While discussing possible matchups for the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion, the former MMA referee and ‘The Punk’ both agreed that Gegard Mousasi would be the perfect opponent.
‘Big’ John said:
“I would love that {Rockhold vs. Mousasi}. I agree. I’m not worried about the championship. I would love to see Gegard and Luke. It would be a fun fight. They match up so well. Their strengths are the same. It would be interesting – interesting as hell.” {46:43 – 46:59}
It will be interesting to see whether Rockhold joins Bellator. It would be a great fit considering his history with Bellator President Scott Coker from his time with Strikeforce.