Marc Goddard News

Adam Martin - October 11, 2020

Referee Marc Goddard praised middleweight Impa Kasanganay for his positive attitude following a brutal KO loss to Joaquin Buckley. Kasanganay was on the wrong end of one of the greatest highlight-reel knockouts in UFC history when Buckley finished him with a spinning back kick in their preliminary card bout at UFC Fight Island 5. Buckley was able to land the kick with his right leg after Kasanganay had caught a kick with his left leg, leading to an incredible, one-of-a-kind KO. The knockout video has gone viral and Buckley was given a $50,000 bonus for his efforts.

Tom Taylor - September 4, 2020

Referee Marc Goddard says it was an “honor” to officiate the last fight Daniel Cormier will ever compete in—but that’s nothing new. Cormier, the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion, competed in his retirement fight in the UFC 252 main event in August, giving up a close decision in a bid to reclaim the UFC heavyweight title from Stipe Miocic.

Tom Taylor - August 16, 2020

Referee Marc Goddard, who was the third man in the Octagon for the UFC 252 heavyweight title fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, has issued a public apology. Mid-way through Miocic and Cormier’s fight, the former landed an inadvertent eye-poke that left the latter with compromised vision. When Cormier complained about sustaining an eye-poke, however, Goddard denied that a foul had been committed.

Adam D Martin - July 31, 2020

Featherweight Ahmad Al Darmaki was disqualified after shoving veteran MMA referee Marc Goddard at a UAE Warriors event in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Al Darmaki (2-6) submitted his opponent Bogdan Kirilenko with a vicious rear-naked choke but Al Darmaki refused to let go of the chokehold when Goddard tried to wave off the fight. Goddard yanked Al Darmaki off of his defenseless opponent and Al Darmaki was then seen shoving the referee and grabbing onto his shirt. Instead of winning the fight via submission, Goddard instead rightfully disqualified Al Darmaki instead.

Adam Martin - February 17, 2020

MMA referee Marc Goddard has spoken publicly for the first time about the controversial stoppage in the Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington fight at UFC 245. Goddard stopped the welterweight title fight with just 50 seconds left in the fifth round in what was up until the point of the stoppage a very close fight. Heading into the final round, one judge had the fight tied up 38-38 while the two other judges had it 39-37 for Usman and 39-37 for Covington, who felt the fight was stopped early.

Chris Taylor - December 15, 2019

Referee Marc Goddard had the responsibility of overseeing last night’s UFC 245 main event between welterweights Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman. The highly anticipated scrap lived up to expectations as ‘Chaos’ and ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ proceeded to go to war right from the opening bell.

Tom Taylor - June 2, 2019

In 2017, Conor McGregor found himself in hot water after getting physical with referee Marc Goddard amid some confusion during his teammate Charlie Ward’s fight. As it turns out, this is not the first time the Irishman had an issue with Goddard.

Tom Taylor - March 7, 2019

Kamaru Usman’s unanimous decision defeat of long-time UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley was a performance to remember. Unfortunately, the fight will also be remembered for a few controversial calls from referee Marc Goddard — most notably a handful of controversial stand-ups, issued when Usman was in dominant positions, seemingly working hard. After a comment from MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas on Twitter, referee Marc Goddard issued a lengthy explanation of his calls in this Usman vs. Woodley matchup.

Tom Taylor - February 12, 2019

Not everybody agreed with the stoppage in last weekend’s Jim Crute vs. Sam Alvey fight. UFC President Dana White, for example, was adamant that referee Marc Goddard stopped the action too early, and that Alvey should have been given a bit more time to recover. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Marc Goddard gave his take on the stoppage in this fight. In hindsight, he admits that he perhaps could have handled the situation differently, but he also reminds his detractors that he’s forced to act decisively in mere milliseconds, oftentimes when a fighter’s safety is on the line.

Tom Taylor - February 10, 2019

Mid-way through the first round of a compelling UFC 234 light heavyweight contest, Australia’s Jim Crute rocked his foe Sam Alvey, leaving the American on spaghetti legs. With Alvey hurt, Crute quickly swarmed to force a stoppage, and eventually got one. Yet many onlookers felt that stoppage came a little too early — that includes UFC President Dana White. Speaking at the UFC 234 post-fight press conference, Dana White criticized referee Marc Goddard for his handiwork in this Jim Crute vs. Sam Alvey matchup.

Tom Taylor - September 23, 2018

Last night, in the main event of UFC Sao Paulo, Thiago Santos stepped into the cage with short-notice replacement opponent Eryk Anders. Toward the end of the third round, Santos began unloading on Anders on the ground, punishing him with thudding punches and elbows to the head. Remarkably, however, Anders survived until round’s end. Unfortunately, Anders could not regain his footing once the round was over. Although it his cornermen attempted to peel him off the canvas, he collapsed not once, but twice, which prompted referee Marc Goddard to wave the fight off.

Tom Taylor - July 29, 2018

On Sunday night, in the main event of UFC on Fox 30 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez finally stepped into the cage for a do-over of their controversial 2017 no contest. In the end, Poirier would win this rematch with a violent second-round volley. Unfortunately, this rematch produced a whole new dose of controversy. In the second round, Alvarez had full mount on Poirier, who was wedged against the cage, unable to move. Alvarez then landed an illegal 12-6 elbow — one of the most frequently debated fouls in MMA — on Poirier’s shoulder, which prompted referee Marc Goddard to step in and issue Alvarez a warning. Instead of letting the action continue on the mat, however, Goddard then reset Poirier and Alvarez in the standing position in the center of the Octagon. No longer trapped, Poirier then poured on the offense, and got the TKO win.