[Regulator75]

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/2/21...oing-all-three

So when McCarthy found himself assigned to the Bellator 149 co-feature bout between Slice, the 42-year-old special attraction who had fought just once in the past five years, and Dada, a street fighter with just two pro bouts legally known as Dhafir Harris, at Houston's Toyota Center, he was ready for anything.

Both fighters got visibly tired early after a first-round ground stalemate. But McCarthy was going to call the fight down the middle like any other bout and wasn't about to do the competitors any favors. That led to frequent restarts and standups, including an instance in the second round of a rare standup call with a fighter, Slice, in full mounted position.

"I always tell them, 'I'm going to stand you up unless you do something,'" McCarthy said. "I'm telling Kimbo, ‘Kimbo, do something.' And he's just tired. He's not trying to punch, he's not trying to go for a submission, he's just trying to catch breath and let time go by."

Slice won via TKO in the third round, was wildly mocked online before it was revealed that Harris had a cardiac scare after the fight and was rushed to the hospital.

But while McCarthy obviously doesn't wish any ill upon Dada 5000, it was his job to call what's in front of him as a referee, and stop it at the appropriate time based on the available information.

"There was never anything that landed that was hard," McCarthy said. "They didn't hit each other with any hard shots. ... Look, there are people that paid money to see this fight. This is not just about you laying on somebody because you're both tired. That's your fault for coming into the fight in that condition."