MMA and UFC referee Marc Goddard says he got death threats following his decision to stop the UFC 245 main event title fight between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.
After 4 action packed rounds in the main event of UFC 245, Usman secured the stoppage win over Covington in the 5th. Marc Goddard put a stop to the contest, awarding Usman the TKO victory.
Covington has since been very vocal about the stoppage and expressed his disdain for Marc Goddard.
“How f*cking stupid are you Marc Goddard? Get a new job because you f*cking suck at your job you piece of sh*t. And stay in England, don’t come back to America you f*cking c*cksucker,” Covington told The Score.
“I promise you Marc Goddard will not come within 10 feet of me in the same room of anything I ever do in my life without getting smacked and without getting a wedgie upside his head.”
Since the controversial stoppage at UFC 245, Marc Goddard has fell victim to an onslaught from Covington fans. Covington’s fans have even gone as far as to send death threats.
Goddard appeared on an episode the LISTEN! podcast with former fighter and UFC commentator Dan Hardy, telling us about the situation. The referee also had something to say about Covington’s comments, calling them “totally inappropriate,” “abusive” and “threatening”. Despite the verbal attacks on him, Goddard says he will remain professional.
“I’m a professional, I take it in stride…Difficult fight [but] I know I handled it on the money, to a T,” he said. “I didn’t respond [to Covington’s comments], I didn’t have to,” he added. “Where would that leave me? On a professional basis, I get into it with a fighter on Twitter? [Then] I’m always going to come off worse. So you rise above and then you move away. The abuse was incalculable from that fight. But you know what, suck it up, because you’re an official and that’s your job.”
Marc Goddard also said that prior to the fight, Colby Covington said he was pleased that he would be the referee. Goddard continued to defend his fight ending call and explained his reasoning:
”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,” Goddard said. “Should I have? And this is the point I make when I’m assessing what happened, I’m assessing the position he’s in, the two knockdowns, he’s being punched, I don’t want to leave him. And boom, my trigger is pulled,” Goddard added. ”My job is to protect you, and regardless of you getting up and telling me you’re fine, at that point, it’s over.”
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 19th February, 2020.
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