Jon Jones' camp tries, fails to oust referee John McCarthy from UFC 200 main event

Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) recently assigned its judges and referee for the upcoming UFC 200 pay-per-view (PPV) championship main event, which takes place on Sat., July 9, 2016 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

But not without a complaint from Jon Jones' camp.

It seems the interim light heavyweight champion is concerned about the sort of job referee "Big" John McCarthy will do once the cage door closes in "Sin City." That's where reigning titleholder Daniel Cormier -- himself unhappy with some veteran officials -- will try to unify the 205-pound titles at Jones' expense.

NSAC Executive Director Bob Bennett was unimpressed (via MMA Fighting):

"Earlier this morning, I did receive at 8:18 an e-mail from the Jones camp, from Mr. (Malki) Kawa, expressing his concerns regarding referee John McCarthy in this fight. Upon review of his complaints or his concerns, I did some research, and I certainly respect the comments that he made, but I do not think they are significant enough to deter me from moving from my initial recommendation."

McCarthy has not officiated a Jones fight since Alexander Gustafsson nearly upset the apple cart at UFC 165.

The judges assigned for "Cormier vs. Jones 2" -- which may be a factor considering their first go-round went the full 25 minutes -- are Derek Cleary, Sal D'Amato, and Glenn Trowbridge. McCarthy will also referee the strawweight title rematch between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 23 Finale the night before.

For much more on UFC 200 click here.