Veteran MMA referee John McCarthy offers key insight into the rules governing the controversial stoppage at UFC 302 as Kevin Holland submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk.

In one of the grisliest stoppages in recent MMA memory, fan-favorite contender Kevin Holland secured a much-needed victory at UFC 302 this weekend by snapping the arm of opponent Michal Oleksiejczuk.

(R-L) Kevin Holland secures an arm bar submission against Michal Oleksiejczuk of Poland in a middleweight fight during the UFC 302 event at Prudent...

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

When his opponent refused to tap, Kevin Holland went for the snap

After being dropped in the opening round, Kevin ‘Trailblazer’ Holland was able to transition on the ground and latch-up an armbar against Oleksiejczuk.

However, when the Polish warrior refused to tap out to the submission, Holland was forced to extend the limb, which popped in return.

Given that Holland himself appeared to ask referee Herb Dean to stop the fight in the seconds immediately before the break, there has been some criticism levied against the veteran official with fans claiming that Dean should have stepped in, regardless of whether Oleksiejczuk tapped or not.

John McCarthy weighs in on referee Herb Dean’s decision not to step in

‘Big’ John McCarthy is not only a veteran referee, but he’s also one of the most recognizable and influential officials in all Mixed Martial Arts, having helped plan and implement the Unified Rules of MMA back when the sport was still in its fledgling years.

So, it’s safe to say that when it comes to complicated or controversial matters involving a UFC referee, McCarthy’s views are vitally important to not only quell fan rage but to educate the global MMA fanbase on what an official should or shouldn’t do.

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Taking to social media in the aftermath of Kevin Holland’s gruesome submission victory, McCarthy was asked by retired UFC fighter Alan Jouban what the guidelines are for when a referee sees a broken limb during a fight.

“As a Professional Fighter, the referee should allow the fighter all the opportunity to extricate themselves from the submission. But if the referee sees a dislocation or a break of the limb, the fight is over. It does not matter if the fighter did not tap.

“When you look at records and you see Winner by “Technical Submission Armbar” it is telling you that the losing fighter allowed the limb to be broken or dislocated. If you see it with a choke, it is telling you that the fighter went unconscious from the sub without tapping.”

“If the referee sees a dislocation or a break in a major limb due to a submission hold, the referee shall stop the fight and the injured fighter will lose by technical submission,” he explained in a follow-up post, later noting that the decision on whether to call off a contest when such an injury occurs is instead down to the ringside physician, not the referee.

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“If the referee sees the fighter with a deformed arm and feels that the arm may be broken they can call a timeout on the fight and bring the fighter over to the Ringside Physician to be checked. It is then the decision of the RP on if the fighter can continue or the fight is over.”

McCarthy also noted that these guidelines are made crystal clear to the fighters before they make their ring walks, with the fan-favorite official explaining that an athlete cannot call a timeout themselves under such circumstances; even when it’s not a full limb break.

“I would always tell them, ‘If you break a finger or a toe and you wish to continue on in the fight, just keep fighting. I will see the injury and allow you to continue on as long as it is not a compound injury…

“If you stop and show me the injury like you need help, I am going to stop the fight and you will lose by TKO’ a fighter cannot ask for a timeout based upon a fair injury, meaning there was no foul that was responsible for the injury.”

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McCarthy’s defense of Herb Dean’s rightful actions in the Holland fight was echoed by former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen.

Speaking via his official YouTube channel, Sonnen added that fans were “out of bounds” for insulting Herb Dean over the stoppage and that the referee “did the right thing” in letting the break (however gruesome it may be) occur the way it did.


With the victory in Newark, Kevin Holland improved his professional record to 26-11.