Dana White criticizes referee Marc Goddard for Jim Crute vs. Sam Alvey stoppage

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.

“The ref did a really, really bad job,” White said (via MMA Fighting). “Real poor refereeing in that fight.”

White went on to point out that, after Crute initially tagged Alvey, Goddard appeared to wave off the fight — which seemed to cause Crute to back off.

“The ref screwed that up, too,” White said. “The ref jumped in there, and [Crute] thought the ref was breaking it up.”

“When something like that happens, it could have cost Crute the fight, because if Alvey got back up and, you know — and then he goes to stop it too soon, then he stops it too early, in my opinion. It happens sometimes, and you know, it sucks for Sam.”

This initial error notwithstanding, Dana White feels that, in the end, Marc Goddard halted the action too soon, and that he should have given Alvey a little more time to turn things around.

“I thought it was a bad stoppage,” White said. “A lot of those shots were hitting him on the arm, but he was obviously hurt, but the fight could’ve gone a little longer and we could’ve saw a little bit more of Crute. Bad stoppage in my opinion.”

Do you agree with UFC President Dana White? Did Marc Goddard make an error in the Sam Alvey vs. Jim Crute bout at UFC 234?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/9/2019.