"Big" John McCarthy criticizes Ilia Topuria, defends Justin Gaethje in loaded UFC gloves controversy

Ilia Topuria recently reentered the public spotlight after having spent the past few months healing from significant facial injuries he sustained in his fourth-round TKO defeat against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June. 

Topuria, a former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion, recently echoed the sentiments of certain sections of the MMA community. They had accused Gaethje of using loaded gloves (illegally hardened gloves), which allegedly helped him damage Topuria's orbitals and other targets to eventually win their fight. 

"Big" John McCarthy -- a veteran MMA referee who's often credited for pioneering refereeing in the sport and helping mold the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts -- has weighed in on the loaded gloves debacle. 

"Big" John McCarthy criticizes Ilia Topuria, supports Justin Gaethje as the American faces accusations of using loaded UFC gloves

In an edition of the Weighing In podcast, John McCarthy and former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson have addressed Ilia Topuria's accusations against Justin Gaethje. A number of fans had alleged that Gaethje, an American fighter, was aided by the U.S. authorities to use illegally modified gloves and beat the Georgian-Spaniard Topuria at the high-profile UFC Freedom 250 event that transpired at the White House in Washington. 

Topuria recently took to X and insinuated that Gaethje had indeed resorted to nefarious means, altering his gloves, to gain an unfair advantage and hand him his first MMA loss. 

Well, John McCarthy seemingly scoffed at Topuria's accusations and lent his support to Gaethje. He stated: 

"First off, Justin Gaethje deserves all the praise in the world for going out there and putting on an incredible performance against a f**king phenomenal undefeated world champion (Ilia Topuria). And Justin Gaethje does have f**king lead in his hands, and that's just because it's Justin Gaethje."

McCarthy continued, "It has nothing to do with wraps. It has nothing to do with gloves. And anyone that is sitting there and saying that it is, is just someone who's trying to make a story or create an issue that is just dead. It's a dead issue. And you're nothing but a person that's putting out bull**it if you're trying to say anything other than that." 

John McCarthy highlights that loading gloves in MMA is even tougher than doing so in boxing

John McCarthy further indicated that employing underhanded tactics under the watchful eyes of the athletic commission and other personnel, in a high-level fight nonetheless, is tough to pull off. He underscored that loading the relatively bigger gloves in the sport of boxing is tough, adding that it's even more challenging to do so in MMA.

He cautioned fans to not be misled by digitally-altered images and videos of Gaethje's allegedly loaded gloves circulating online. Urging people to give Justin Gaethje the "props" he deserves, McCarthy said:

"For you to say that, oh, he had loaded gloves -- first off, it's not easy to load gloves in boxing. But it's a whole lot harder to do it in MMA." 

Presently, Ilia Topuria continues working toward a triumphant comeback, with fans wondering whom he'll face in his first fight back after his gruesome defeat. On the other hand, reigning UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje is eyeing a return in 2027, while top contenders such as Arman Tsarukyan continue lobbying for a title shot against him. 

Watch John McCarthy and Josh Thomson discuss the Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje loaded gloves controversy below (*comments at the 1:33:50-minute mark of the video):