Former mixed martial arts (MMA) referee John McCarthy does not agree with Brendan Schaub that the best fighters only compete in the UFC.
Earlier this month on the Joe Rogan podcast, Schaub made the claim that the best fighters are not competing in Bellator or ONE Championship, but solely in the UFC.
His thinking was that the competition is at the highest level in the UFC, so it is only natural to believe that the best fighters are with the Las Vegas-based promotion.
However, McCarthy disagrees. Speaking on his “Weighing In” podcast, McCarthy made a comparison using Schaub himself:
“Brendan, you fought in the UFC. Congratulations, that was great,” McCarthy said (via BJ Penn). “You had a couple of good fights. But I can point out fights that he had against guys that beat him that lost to guys outside of the UFC.
“Back when [Schaub] was fighting, if they had brought Fedor Emelianenko over, because Brendan is a UFC fighter he’s better than Fedor Emelianenko? He’s going to win? Does that make sense? You’re a UFC fighter, you’re better? It just doesn’t add up.”
Although it should be noted that McCarthy is currently contracted to Bellator as a commentator and analyst, he does have a point.
Some of the very best fighters compete outside the UFC such as Eddie Alvarez, Demetrious Johnson, Douglas Lima and Gegard Mousasi to name a few.
Regardless, what do you think of the debate?
