Next stop for McCarthy: Becoming a UFC referee

Unable to defeat Michael Bisping and take a leap forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's middleweight division, American Top Team fighter Charles McCarthy gave in to his rational side and decided that enough was enough.

Last Thursday, he announced his retirement.

"It's a lot of different things," McCarthy said recently on MMAWeekly Radio. "I felt good in the fight. It had nothing to do with the outcome of the fight.

"I just felt like it's hard for me to maintain that (type of) training camp and maintain my business and maintain my family. It's a little tough for me to balance all these things, plus manage my fighters. I figure if I take (fighting) off of my plate for now, it'll give me some opportunities to do some other things that I've been wanting to do."

While many fighters struggle on, inching forward, that's not the life that McCarthy envisioned for himself and his family. He feels that there are many other productive ways for him to stay involved in the sport he loves, including giving more of his time to the people that have given so much of theirs to him.

"I feel like there are things in my life that I can be doing to better provide for my family, to better provide for my fighters," said McCarthy. "I really care a lot about my fighters and I feel like I neglected them a little bit getting ready for this fight. I really want to make amends with that."

McCarthy, along with Ultimate Fighter and UFC veteran Cole Miller, operates Ultimate Self Defense, an American Top Team affiliate school in Boca Raton, Fla.

"Definitely, I'm a better coach than a fighter. I really get into it. I really enjoy the guys going in there and living out their dreams"

He hasn't completely closed the door on a possible return to fighting, but in the immediate future, McCarthy may take center ring in a different capacity. Instead of the one delivering the blows, he may end up being the man that stops them.

"My goal is to go in and register to become a referee for the state of Florida. I'd like to referee in UFC and some other places," he said. But he hasn't drawn the line there either, saying, "I'd like to maybe get into the promotional end of it.

"There's just so many different aspects of the sport ... I just love the sport. I can't see myself not being involved in every aspect possible."