Big John McCarthy has said so long to the Fight Network … and it doesn’t sound like it was on the best of terms.

His farewell post is a heartfelt goodbye to the coworkers he’ll miss (including original President/CEO Mike Garrow, color commentator Mauro Ranallo and radio host/producer John Pollock), as well as a big “F” you to “all the higher ups that have taken over the Fight Network over the last year” (okay, so he doesn’t say “F” you, but rather “shame on you” — he is, after all, a family man).

Big John’s departure is just the latest name to leave the network — he joins Loretta Hunt, TFN broadcaster JT McCarthy (no relation), and others — following months of shakeup at the company, which involved new ownership and new management.

His departure will no doubt fuel emerging rumors that the Fight Network could go off the air … and soon. Whatever the case, you might want to read McCarthy’s post while it’s still made available.

And for all you diehard Big John fans out there, this could be the break you’ve been waiting for. He hints at a possible return to refereeing — even at a return to the UFC:

“A few people have said that I have attacked the UFC. That is simply not true. I have never said anything bad about the UFC. I spent 14 years of my life trying to build up the UFC and make people understand how incredible the fighters of MMA were. I considered myself very lucky in the fact that I was able to be around the UFC for as long as I was, and you never know maybe I will go back to refereeing and someday work another UFC.”

Let’s hope he hasn’t burned any bridges with Dana White (even though it is the athletic commissions that choose refs, not the promotions).

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