{"id":245647,"date":"2017-07-31T08:52:24","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T15:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=245647"},"modified":"2017-07-31T08:52:24","modified_gmt":"2017-07-31T15:52:24","slug":"referee-big-john-mccarthy-responds-daniel-cormier-post-fight-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/john-mccarthy\/referee-big-john-mccarthy-responds-daniel-cormier-post-fight-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"Referee Big John McCarthy responds to Daniel Cormier’s post-fight statement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Saturday, Daniel Cormier’s reign as UFC light heavyweight champion came to a crashing halt, as he was put down by a third-round head-kick dealt by his rival Jon Jones. Some 24 hours later, Cormier released a statement<\/a> on his Instagram account, during which he congratulated Jones, and apologized to referee John McCarthy for initially protesting the stoppage.<\/p>\n

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First off, thank you all for the kind words. I have felt the support. Congratulations to Jon Jones and his team. They did a phenomenal job and got the victory. Also, to Big John McCarthy, I would like to apologize for acting up with you. I am thankful for the time you gave me to try and defend myself and stay in the fight. You are the best in the business for a reason. I also wanna thank my team and my coaches. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. Your time and energy is greatly appreciated. You guys did a wonderful job, I was ready. It’s a fist fight and things happen. Dana White and the @ufc, thank you for being the premiere organization in all of MMA. Again, congrats to Team Jones and JacksonWink. Love you all. I’ll see you soon. DC 📷@layziethesavage<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by Daniel “DC” Cormier (@dc_mma) on

Since then, McCarthy has responded, praising Cormier for the way he has represented the sport, and for his skill inside the Octagon.<\/p>\n