'Big' John McCarthy breaks down recent refereeing controversies, Gillian Robertson, Abdullah Mason, tons of news & notes episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 30, 2026 · 3H 17M

'Big' John McCarthy breaks down recent refereeing controversies, Gillian Robertson, Abdullah Mason, tons of news & notes

from The Ariel Helwani Show · host Ariel Helwani

Ariel Helwani kicks off the show with a bit of news and notes (03:28), then welcomes in longtime referee “Big” John McCarthy to discuss all things officiating. McCarthy covers the controversial ending to Adriano Moraes vs. Phumi Nkuta, the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven stoppage, whether Ciryl Gane landed shots to the back of the Alex Pereira’s head and how Herb Dean handled the call, Michel Pereira having his hair pulled by Shara Bullet, how the doctors treated Ilia Topuria’s damage eye at the White House, and more (13:28). UFC strawweight title challenger Gillian Robertson is back, discussing how her grappling compares to Mackenzie Dern’s grappling, whether there’s any friction between the two, hoping to submit Dern, how she unwinds when not competing, her marijuana use, career ambitions, and more (1:03:24). WBO lightweight champion Abdullah Mason joins the show ahead of his Ohio homecoming fight against Albert Bell, having familiarity with his opponent, being willing to take on major challenges like Shakur Stevenson, what’s next, and more (1:31:20). The Boys in the Back, Petesy Carroll, and special guest Marc Raimondi join Ariel to close the show, touching on Tyson Fury’s next fight, the approaching anniversary of the NWO formation, Ian Machado Garry and Eddie Hearn speaking to Irish media, Max Holloway reacting to Dustin Poirier’s arrest, Merab Dvalishvili’s friendship with Sean O’Malley, and more (1:47:24). The show wraps up with your Super Chats (2:51:48).

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 30, 2026

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Ariel Helwani is joined by “Big” John McCarthy to break down recent refereeing controversies, title challenger Gillian Robertson, and boxing prospect Abdullah Mason. Plus, special guest Marc Raimondi drops in for tons of news and notes, and Super Chats.

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'Big' John McCarthy breaks down recent refereeing controversies, Gillian Robertson, Abdullah Mason, tons of news & notes

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