Mark Goddard On Why He Moved Conor McGregor From Cage Side

[Coast]

Andre FIli was in top position on the ground against Artem Lobov in the second round of their fight when referee Marc Goddard paused the action briefly.

Goddard walked over to the cage and told Conor McGregor, MMA’s biggest star and Lobov’s longtime teammate, to leave the area. McGregor, who was not a licensed corner, was shouting directions to Lobov outside the Octagon near where the action was taking place Saturday at UFC Gdansk in Poland.

“The reason I interjected is because Artem gets a fourth cornerman cage side giving instruction,” Goddard told MMA Fighting. “That’s not allowed. Imagine had Conor talked him through a fight-ending sequence. Then what?”

McGregor was stalking around the Octagon throughout the fight, which Fili ended up winning by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). It was outside the bounds of what someone who has a seat in the crowd should be doing with regards to trying to affect the fight, according to Goddard.

“Conor was basically acting like a fourth cornerman,” Goddard said. “Walking around the cage side wherever and whenever he wanted. When Fili took down Artem, Conor was right there. That’s simply not fair and not allowed. I won’t have it. He can’t do as he pleases.”

Fili (17-5) has now won two of three fights in the UFC. Lobov (13-14-1, 1 NC), who trains out of SBG Ireland with McGregor, has lost two straight.

Goddard said he couldn’t play favorites just because it was McGregor, the UFC’s golden boy.

“If Conor had stood up, stayed at his seat, then he could have shouted till his hearts content,” Goddard said. “That’s what he’s supposed to do. But what he simply cannot do, what he is not allowed to do, is approach the cage at any point and as I say act as the fourth corner. That’s unfair and unjust. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’ve done this forever, in any country in any situation. My integrity is not wavered and neither is the rules. We can’t allow that. I simply had to act.”

McGregor has not been to a UFC fight in quite a while. The UFC lightweight champion spent the summer training for a boxing match against all-time great Floyd Mayweather. McGregor ended up falling to Mayweather by 10th-round TKO.

It’s unclear what is next for McGregor in MMA, though he is the the biggest drawing card in the sport right now by far. “The Notorious” could unify the lightweight title with interim champion Tony Ferguson, but there are other options on the table for him, including a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz.

Source

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

I love Goddard.

 

[ender852]

logical and reasonable

 

[Rambo John J]

Badass Ref

wonder if this guy would actually take points for eye pokes

 

[UKMMAGURU]

In fairness, as soon as Goddard told him McGregor held his hands up and stopped yapping.

 

[nuraknu]

In fairness, as soon as Goddard told him McGregor held his hands up and stopped yapping.

View: https://twitter.com/UFCIndia/status/921795052405374976

 

[SlapheadGiraffe]

We had Marc come to us in person (drive 2 hours) to do a podcast recently.
Lovely guy, great guest and loved my dog

 

[SongExotic2]

I love Goddard.

I tweeted him for you

 

[SongExotic2]

We had Marc come to us in person (drive 2 hours) to do a podcast recently.
Lovely guy, great guest and loved my dog

Hey did you ask him that fuck marry or kill question I asked?

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

Hey did you ask him that fuck marry or kill question I asked?

If you had listened to the podcast then you would know...

 

[SongExotic2]

If you had listened to the podcast then you would know...

What's a podcast?

 

[Enock-O-Lypse Now!]

Just another reason I feel he is the best in the biz.

He consistently makes the right calls and does not play favorites like many UFC refs do..(*cough herb dean *cough)

Marc Goddard and Josh Rosenthal are my #1 - #2 refs in MMA with Shimada coming in third.

 

[Papi Chingon]

Tell me mcgregor was walking around H just shouting "knees!"

 

[Wild]

I love Goddard.

He's a great ref. Highly underrated.

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

Just another reason I feel he is the best in the biz.

He consistently makes the right calls and does not play favorites like many UFC refs do..(*cough herb dean *cough)

Marc Goddard and Josh Rosenthal are my #1 - #2 refs in MMA with Shimada coming in third.

Absolutely. Everyone always talks about how Herb and Big John are the best and swings from their nuts but they're anything but consistent. That's not to say that they aren't vastly better than most but they aren't nearly as consistent and on top of things as Goddard is. Seriously the best all around ref in the sport. Rosenthal would be my #2 as well but he doesn't seem to really control things the way that Marc does.

Either way, if I were a fighter I would want those guys in there looking out for my well being and my career.

 

[Enock-O-Lypse Now!]

We had Marc come to us in person (drive 2 hours) to do a podcast recently.
Lovely guy, great guest and loved my dog

I actually listened to that one, you guys did a great job and asked some great questions and it was nice to get Marc's point of view on things.

I would listen to your podcast more often if the audio was improved. For some reason when I have the audio going through a Bluetooth speaker I have to put it on full blast while listening to your podcast and still had troubles hearing.

 

[Dat Pre-HollyHolm Ronda $]

Saw lots of people posting on that article about Conor thinking he can do whatever
he wants and disregarding the rules. I didn't see that. I saw a dude loyal as fuck to his
friend and feeling the same pain Artem was feeling yet unable to jump in and help him.

I can't be mad at Conor here...

 

[SlapheadGiraffe]

If you had listened to the podcast then you would know...

Hey did you ask him that fuck marry or kill question I asked?

Yes

 

[SlapheadGiraffe]

I actually listened to that one, you guys did a great job and asked some great questions and it was nice to get Marc's point of view on things.

I would listen to your podcast more often if the audio was improved. For some reason when I have the audio going through a Bluetooth speaker I have to put it on full blast while listening to your podcast and still had troubles hearing.

Thanks, appreciated.
As a general rule sound quality is worse when we have a guest by Skype. We can’t do a lot about that. Had Linton Vassell last week and sound was poor.
If it’s just us or the guest comes to us it’s good, or so I’m told

 

[ender852]

Saw lots of people posting on that article about Conor thinking he can do whatever
he wants and disregarding the rules. I didn't see that. I saw a dude loyal as fuck to his
friend and feeling the same pain Artem was feeling yet unable to jump in and help him.

I can't be mad at Conor here...

yeah, but he said it was because connor got right up on the cage, because the ufc lets him do whatever he wants. Goddard said if he would have stayed in his seat it would have been a non-issue

 

[Enock-O-Lypse Now!]

Thanks, appreciated.
As a general rule sound quality is worse when we have a guest by Skype. We can’t do a lot about that. Had Linton Vassell last week and sound was poor.
If it’s just us or the guest comes to us it’s good, or so I’m told

Thanks for the info, I'll give your guys podcast another go. Keep up the good work

 

[CutmanMatt]

Good on Goddard, but honestly, this is a job and responsibility of the commissioners cageside. Each corner has a commissioner in it, and there are extra commissioners all around the cage. Whats happening outside the cage is their purview and they fucked up.

 

[Dat Pre-HollyHolm Ronda $]

yeah, but he said it was because connor got right up on the cage, because the ufc lets him do whatever he wants. Goddard said if he would have stayed in his seat it would have been a non-issue

Yeah I understand that. I'm just didn't get the vibe that Conor was doing it because
he's a jerk that thinks he can do whatever he wants. He just seemed more desperate
and just forgetting the rules cuz his friend was catching a beatdown and he felt helpless