The Truth About Being a UFC Referee!

[Mohawk Banditó]

No he is not. His decision to stop a title fight 50 seconds before it would have went to the judges scorecard was ridiculous, unnecessary, and is one of if not the worst decisions by a referee in a title fight in the history of the UFC.

Colby put himself in the position he is in, but if any other fighter had that done to them they would have already had their rematch. Goddard stopped a title fight fifty seconds before it was going to the judges scorecard because Colby got knocked down twice, he didn't go unconcious, and was covering up when Mark Goddard seemingly out of no where spontaneously decided the fight was over.

This was a display of arrogance, playing kingmaker, rather than a pragmatic one and he defends it to this day.

I'm not gonna argue about whether Colby's defense warranted a stoppage, but whenever i see someone talk about how much time is left being a factor in how refs should stop a fight, I stop listening, cuz that's pretty fucking stupid.

Might still have been a bad stoppage, but the above is not an argument. Stop saying it

 

[austinblair]

Thanks op and thanks Marc Goddard. This guy takes his job as serious as a rocket scientist (albeit makes mistakes some, we all do) this guy is very passionate and skilled. Great ref. Top 3 ever.

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

I'm not gonna argue about whether Colby's defense warranted a stoppage, but whenever i see someone talk about how much time is left being a factor in how refs should stop a fight, I stop listening, cuz that's pretty fucking stupid.

Might still have been a bad stoppage, but the above is not an argument. Stop saying it

Colby got knocked down and his opponent was (correctly) reigning in blows to keep him from getting up.

The smartest line of defense in that situatation is to cover your head, preventing or pacifying the impact of those repeated blows and waiting for an opening (within 10-60 seconds) to get back to your feet.

Its one thing if a fighter is making no attempt to get back to their feet, a good example would be how Greg Hardy reacted to Tyburas ground and pound, that is when a fight should be stopped even if they are not unconscious/outwardly injured; not when the fighter is protecting their head after getting knocked down for the second time in a round.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

Colby got knocked down and his opponent was (correctly) reigning in blows to keep him from getting up.

The smartest line of defense in that situatation is to cover your head, preventing or pacifying the impact of those repeated blows and waiting for an opening (within 10-60 seconds) to get back to your feet.

Its one thing if a fighter is making no attempt to get back to their feet, a good example would be how Greg Hardy reacted to Tyburas ground and pound, that is when a fight should be stopped even if they are not unconscious/outwardly injured; not when the fighter is protecting their head after getting knocked down for the second time in a round.

That's better. Like i said, I can't argue it, I've actually never seen it. I'm just saying a ref should never be like, "He's hurt! -wait, how much time is left? Maybe I'll sit on this one."

 

[TJH Exitium]

I'm not gonna argue about whether Colby's defense warranted a stoppage, but whenever i see someone talk about how much time is left being a factor in how refs should stop a fight, I stop listening, cuz that's pretty fucking stupid.

Might still have been a bad stoppage, but the above is not an argument. Stop saying it

Awesome point.

The amount of time left on the clock has no bearing on whether a fight should be stopped or not.
The ref's job is to officiate the contest according to the rules at all times. The rules do not change from the beginning, middle and end of the round.
If a fighter is hurt and taking unnecessary damage, the ref has grounds to stop the fight

EDIT:
also Colby's defence did warrant a stoppage. He was semi-concious, face down turtling up and taking shots to the head that he was not blocking

 

[JoshTehV]

I was surprised that Goddard is that well-spoken, seems like an astute individual

 

[TJH Exitium]

Colby got knocked down and his opponent was (correctly) reigning in blows to keep him from getting up.

The smartest line of defense in that situatation is to cover your head, preventing or pacifying the impact of those repeated blows and waiting for an opening (within 10-60 seconds) to get back to your feet.

Its one thing if a fighter is making no attempt to get back to their feet, a good example would be how Greg Hardy reacted to Tyburas ground and pound, that is when a fight should be stopped even if they are not unconscious/outwardly injured; not when the fighter is protecting their head after getting knocked down for the second time in a round.

Colby wasn't just 'protecting his head knocked down for a second', he was badly hurt and face down, nearly in fetal position, he was covering his face but heavy shots were landing and it's pretty clear that given even 10 more seconds he was going to be taking Carwin vs Mir level shots. That fight was over

 

[PurpleStorm]

Marc Goddard explains what life is really like as a UFC referee in this animation by Curtis Pyke.

Brilliant.

Thank you for sharing this 0-1.

Merry Christmas & happy new year to you and your loved ones.

 

[philweed]

Very tough job. Unfortunately some of the biggest idiots do it.

 

[Hypetrainofthemonth]

No he is not. His decision to stop a title fight 50 seconds before it would have went to the judges scorecard was ridiculous, unnecessary, and is one of if not the worst decisions by a referee in a title fight in the history of the UFC.

Colby put himself in the position he is in, but if any other fighter had that done to them they would have already had their rematch. Goddard stopped a title fight fifty seconds before it was going to the judges scorecard because Colby got knocked down twice, he didn't go unconcious, and was covering up when Mark Goddard seemingly out of no where spontaneously decided the fight was over.

This was a display of arrogance, playing kingmaker, rather than a pragmatic one and he defends it to this day.

Time should NEVER be a factor of stopping a fight, in a sport where literal life & death is at play, or life altering Injuries can happen.

Also I don't know if you realize just how long 50 seconds can be, when you're getting your ass kicked.

Have someone, on top of you mind you, start punching your face for 5 seconds, and see how much damage can be done. Especially when their was "beef" and Usman truly didn't like Colby and wanted to deal serious damage.

Now multiply that x10 while you're hurt, still haven't managed to gain any positive positional movement. You're going to either go completely out, or wanted it stopped anyway.


There is a reason fights have ended at 4:59 of the last round.

Awesome point.

The amount of time left on the clock has no bearing on whether a fight should be stopped or not.
The ref's job is to officiate the contest according to the rules at all times. The rules do not change from the beginning, middle and end of the round.
If a fighter is hurt and taking unnecessary damage, the ref has grounds to stop the fight

EDIT:
also Colby's defence did warrant a stoppage. He was semi-concious, face down turtling up and taking shots to the head that he was not blocking

Bingo, 100%.

Colby wasn't just 'protecting his head knocked down for a second', he was badly hurt and face down, nearly in fetal position, he was covering his face but heavy shots were landing and it's pretty clear that given even 10 more seconds he was going to be taking Carwin vs Mir level shots. That fight was over

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

Colby wasn't just 'protecting his head knocked down for a second', he was badly hurt and face down, nearly in fetal position, he was covering his face but heavy shots were landing and it's pretty clear that given even 10 more seconds he was going to be taking Carwin vs Mir level shots. That fight was over

Gonna leave this here, sums up what I originally said, and from a guy about to fight for a belt himself. Got a feeling he won't be approving Goddard to be the ref of that fight.

 

[Eiger]

I greatly enjoyed this podcast (your mileage may vary ) with Dan Hardy and Mark Goddard, where Goddard breaks down the 5th round of Adesanya-Gastelum. IIRC, he touches upon Usman-Covington as well. I recommend:



No timestamp because almost the entire episode is about subject.

 

[Dacha]

Many good refs around, Marc Goddard is definetly not one of them, imo. There are so many examples i wouldn't know where to start.

 

[CutStryker]

Big John McCarthy was the best ref in the UFC

 

[King in the North]

That was kinda cool

 

[Doughie99]

I do think Goddard is one of the best refs currently working.
He is good and consistent and takes it very seriously. Top work by him.

 

[Emjay]

No he is not. His decision to stop a title fight 50 seconds before it would have went to the judges scorecard was ridiculous, unnecessary, and is one of if not the worst decisions by a referee in a title fight in the history of the UFC.

Colby put himself in the position he is in, but if any other fighter had that done to them they would have already had their rematch. Goddard stopped a title fight fifty seconds before it was going to the judges scorecard because Colby got knocked down twice, he didn't go unconcious, and was covering up when Mark Goddard seemingly out of no where spontaneously decided the fight was over.

This was a display of arrogance, playing kingmaker, rather than a pragmatic one and he defends it to this day.

So all it takes is 1 with you guys, lol

 

[clutchCAT420]

Cliffs

 

[TJH Exitium]

Gonna leave this here, sums up what I originally said, and from a guy about to fight for a belt himself. Got a feeling he won't be approving Goddard to be the ref of that fight.

What I am reading is that you did not watch that fight. Or you are trying some kind of lame troll job.

Colby was not defending himself whatsoever. He was face down in fetal position, he was not blocking any of the shots that were hitting him and we would have been unconscious within a few seconds...

That was a textbook perfect stoppage, and if Goddard had let the fight continue we would have had a rant from Dana White about the ref letting the fighter die in the ring