Marc Goddard was the official working the UFC 245 pay-per-view (PPV) main event between welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.
It was a spectacular back-and-forth brawl between the two, which went into the fifth round, where “The Nigerian Nightmare” finished the bout via TKO. Midway through the fight, Usman broke Covington’s jaw. It looked like the pain became too much in the final round, as Covington was dropped before being finished on the ground.
Since, Covington has blasted Goddard for his officiating of the fight, allowing the fight to be stopped in the early rounds due to a questionable low-blow, as well as a questionable eye poke. Covington also believes Goddard stepping in to stop the fight when he did was a bit unjust. Responding on “Listen!” with Dan Hardy, Goddard said he thinks he officiated that fight “on the money.” (H/T MMA Junkie)
“(It was a) difficult fight. I know I handled it on the money, to a T,” Goddard said. “I’m seeing things unfold, and I see Colby put down twice in rapid order – plus 24 minutes of back-and-forth before that. So there’s a lot of damage sustained. Then I see him go down, and obviously he stays in that turtle position started on the double, then pulling his hands back.
“This is where everything will narrow in for me. I’m now firmly put in the spotlight. I have a decision to make and I’m trying to assess this. I have to assess this, real time, with everything I saw, etc.”
Just a week later, Goddard was under fire again for his officiating of the Chan Sung Jung vs. Frankie Edgar main event at UFC Busan. Jung delivered some nasty punishment to Edgar, finishing him in the first round. However, many argued that the fight could’ve been stopped earlier than when it was.
As for why he stopped the Edgar fight later than the Covington fight, Goddard explained that Edgar wasn’t in a 24-minute brawl beforehand.
“I’m looking at Colby, and then I see the damage he’s sustained, the two knockdowns, etc.,” Goddard said. “When you are face down, when I can’t see you, I can’t read you. It’s difficult for me to … that exasperates everything further. So I’m now trying to compute in my mind: ‘Are you there, (or) are you not?’
“Could I have let that fight go on? Yeah. Could have I stood back and let it go on? Yeah. Should I have let it? And that’s the narrative here. Should I have? And that’s the point I make when I’m assessing what happened, assessing the position he’s in: two knockdowns, (and) he’s being punched.”
What do you think about Goddard saying he officiated Usman vs. Covington “on the money?”