M2MMA Inc. Appoints 'Big' John McCarthy to Advisory Board to Support AI-Driven Combat Sports Infrastructure
John McCarthy with Conor McGregor
John McCarthy
Experience Meets Innovation: MMA Pioneer “Big” John McCarthy Joins M2MMA to Advise on AI-Integrated Tech and Regulatory Infrastructure
M2MMA Inc. (OTCBB:MMAZ)
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, March 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- M2MMA Inc. today announced the appointment of John McCarthy to its Advisory Board. In this strategic role, McCarthy will provide critical oversight to M2MMA’s technology development, ensuring the Company’s digital and hardware infrastructure is applicable from the gym to high-stakes professional competition.
McCarthy has been embedded in the sport’s DNA since its inception. At the historic UFC 1 in 1993, John served as sparring partner for Royce Gracie, helping prepare him for the tournament victory that launched the global MMA phenomenon. Following that inaugural event, McCarthy was approached by Rorion Gracie to become the head referee and establish a set of officiating standards for the cage. From that starting point, he grew into arguably the most recognizable official in combat sports history and a primary architect of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. His influence is unparalleled on the sport’s officiating and regulatory DNA. By joining M2MMA, McCarthy brings a lifetime of real-world experience at the highest levels of the sport to the forefront of technological innovation.
Beyond the cage, McCarthy will advise on M2MMA’s research and development initiatives. By utilizing longitudinal analysis of real-time data, M2MMA aims to tackle the sport’s most pressing challenges, including weight-cutting protocols, sparring intensity, and TBI prevention. The M2Intel platform will leverage AI to develop trend analysis, providing athletes and coaches with objective evidence to optimize:
Training and Recovery Protocols: Combining coach experience with data-backed insights to deliver improved training and recovery schedules.
Sparring Load Management: Using longitudinal analysis and real-time impact metrics to inform individualized protocols.
Weight Management: Analyzing the physiological impact of weight cuts to assist athletes in finding their optimal weight for performance and longevity.
Another core focus of McCarthy’s role will be assisting M2MMA in ensuring their AI-integrated equipment including hardware designed to capture real-time impact metrics, is functionally viable for training environments and active competition. His decades of "in the cage" experience provide an invaluable filter, ensuring that wearable tech and data sensors do not interfere with the mechanics of a fight while delivering precision data collection.
“John’s experience isn't just deep—it’s foundational,” said Jeff Robinson, CEO of M2MMA. “In combat sports, there is no substitute for the split-second intuition gained from decades inside the cage or the ring. By involving John in the development of our technology ecosystem, we are ensuring the information is calibrated by the person who has seen perhaps more high-level combat sports impact than anyone on earth. We aren't building tech for a lab; we’re building it for the cage and the ring.”
McCarthy joins an elite Advisory Board already featuring fellow regulatory titans, including Dr. Michael Schwartz, Co-Chair of the ABC Medical Committee, and Michael Mazzulli, former President of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC). Together, these members of the board represent a distinguished and authoritative collective in combat sports governance, working to ensure M2MMA builds a structured technology ecosystem that delivers a smarter, safer and more engaging combat sports for all stakeholders.
John McCarthy added:
“I’ve seen this sport grow from an idea into a global phenomenon. The next step is technical clarity. Joining forces with Dr. Schwartz and Mike Mazzulli on this board means we are building a framework that the entire industry can trust. We are taking thirty years of real-world lessons and hard-coding them into AI that can tell a coach how to optimize a fighter's sparring protocol and assist a fighter in finding their best fighting weight. Quite simply, we protect fighters when we give them the data to perform at their best.”
About M2MMA Inc.
M2MMA Inc. (OTC: MMAZ) is an integrated combat sports and performance company that merges advanced technology with medical and safety innovation. Through athlete protection systems, concussion protocols, performance analytics, AI-powered production, and blockchain-secured data, M2MMA is building a more innovative ecosystem that safeguards athletes and strengthens global combat sports. The company’s platform unifies analytics and athlete care into a single intelligent network. Artificial intelligence transforms live fight data into predictive safety insights, while blockchain ensures transparent, verifiable records. Guided by a leadership team grounded in data science and decentralized systems, M2MMA is shaping a future in which combat sports are safer, more accountable, and commercially stronger.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, future growth, technology development, partnerships, and expansion plans. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that could affect actual results include, among others, market conditions, regulatory matters, the Company’s ability to execute its business and technology strategy, and other risks described in any public disclosures made by the Company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements except as required by law.
Jeff Robinson
M2MMA Inc
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Big John McCarthy Joins M2MMA Advisory Board | MMA Rules, AI, Fighter Safety & Weight Cutting
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