Deiveson Figueiredo of Brazil celebrates after defeating Joseph Benavidez in their UFC flyweight championship bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on July 19, 2020 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC referee Marc Goddard also spoke about how he got into officiating
Marc Goddard is one of the most recognizable faces in the UFC but he isn’t a fighter. The Englishman is a former MMA star but now is known for his officiating inside the UFC Octagon.
While Goddard is one of the best in the world, even he isn’t short of getting criticised. He was in the center of the madness between Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo recently.
This was for the vacant Flyweight title and Figueiredo absolutely demolished Benavidez. There were calls for why the fight wasn’t called off early and Goddard told the Schmo that he calls championship fights differently when compared to amateurs clashing.
He added that he knew what he was doing and went through what happened in that clash:
“In that fight is a classic case and point. Benavidez, he was getting knocked from pillar to post. He just couldn’t get his groove, Figueiredo pounced on him early, hurt him early.”
Goddard spoke about how people were asking why one fight was stopped so early and the other wasn’t and he explained what went about:
“That fight was one round old, Benavidez was in a world of s*** but he was doing everything to show me that he was still trying to recover and still trying to get back in that fight.
“When it came to the end with the rear-naked choke, the reactions we are looking for, when it finally got in, I already know, I have to let that guy go out. I cannot stop that fight 1 second before, because if I do stop it one second before and he sits up like the Undertaker, I am going to be trashed.”
Goddard also spoke about fans accepting the fact that this is “fighting” and people are going to sustain damage.
He ended by saying that even Benavidez came up to him after the clash and asked if he had gone out or not. This was just further proof that fighters don’t want the clash to be called off unless they have taken damage or are knocked out.
While that was one moment that Goddard shared in detail, he was also asked about how he became a referee.
Goddard held a 7-6-1 record in his MMA career and was a heavyweight, but an injury nearly 16 years back changed everything:
“As an official, back in 2004, I was supposed to fight an event. I got injured and I couldn’t fight and the promoter was a friend of mine.
“Something happened to one of the refs and he said ‘Will you referee?’, I didn’t have time to think about it and I just jumped it, and the rest is history.”
Goddard might have missed out on becoming a UFC legend due to his fighting skills. However, he is certainly one of the personalities in the promotion now.
He has the best seats in the house and seems to enjoy doing all that he does.
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