Veterandomaren Marc Goddard har varit tyst i media sen han dömde matchen mellan den före detta interim-mästaren Colby Covington och den nuvarande Kamaru Usman på UFC 245. Nu två månader efter tar han bladet från munnen när han co-hostade podcasten LISTEN! med Dan Hardy.
Goddard berättar att han inte bara fått ta emot anklagelser från Covington om att matchen var uppgjord, utan även dödshot från allmänheten för sin insats under galan. Goddard säger att han varit lockad att svara på anklagelserna, men låtit bli för att det nog hade själpt mer än hjälpt.
Imagine if an official had done that,”
“That’s 20 years of my life down the drain. I’d never work again. Such is the life.”
Goddard säger att före matchen hade Covington en helt annan inställning att han till och med hade tackade Goddard för att han var domare.
“I’m glad you’re my referee.”
Goddard berättar också att han förklarade för Covington efteråt varför han stoppade matchen.
”One of the parting shots I will always say to a fighter, regardless of who it is, I say, ‘If you’re hurt, if I think you’re in any danger in a fight, I need you to do one thing: Just show me you’re still there,’”
Efter fyra svårdömnda ronder säger Goddard att matchen skiftade mot Usman, något som han inte kunde ignorera.
”That fight was 24 minutes long,”
“(Covington) was getting beat up, and beating up. Some judge had it 2-2. That was a competitive fight. Those first four rounds were competitive, and the fifth round started competitive.
”Then Kamaru started to get the upper hand, and then he stung him a few times, and then there was the first knockdown, and then was the second knockdown. All this is real-time worrying in my mind. I am aware of the clock. I don’t want to stop the fight. I want this fight to go the distance. You’ve had 24 minutes of war for the highest prize in the sport from two A-line athletes. What’s not to respect? What’s not to understand? But I’m seeing things unfold, and I see Colby get 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 he stays in that turtle position – (he) started on the (double-leg takedown), then he’s 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, coupled with everything I saw. People talk about the back of the head. They haven’t got a f*cking clue what back of the head is. Not a clue. I’m not even going to go there. Because what you think is the back of the head is not the back of the head.”
Goddard säger att han var nära på att stoppa matchen två gånger, men att Covington visat tillräckligt med vilja att vara kvar för att han skulle kunna låta matchen fortsätta.
”I know he’s hurt,”
“I know he’s not out; he’s hurt, which is why you see when he gets knocked down, I run in, I see him reacting, I move back. The second knockdown, you close the distance, he reacts, I move back. Then the shots start coming in. This is where things narrow down for me. I have to make a choice, one way or another.
”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 this is the point I make when I’m assessing what happened, I’m assessing the position he’s in, the two knockdowns, (and) he’s being punched. I don’t want to leave him. My trigger’s pulled.
”My job is to protect you, and regardless of you getting up and telling me you’re fine at that point, it’s over.”
Goddard avslutar med att pointerar att domarna är där för att först och främst skydda deltagarna.
