Marc Goddard was the man in the middle for UFC Calgary's controversial headliner.
When Eddie Alvarez was in full mount against Dustin Poirier, Marc Goddard stood him up. The referee was perfectly within his rights to do so, but the decision received quite a bit of backlash.
Alvarez had plenty of time to work from the dominant top position. However, he landed an illegal 12-6 elbow on his shoulder. The controversial rule is the reason behind the sole loss on Jon Jones' record, but it has been part of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts for 18 years. Goddard was simply doing his job by enforcing it.
The criticism came because the stand-up marked a huge turning point in the fight. Immediately after the fight restarted, Poirier went on the rampage. Seconds later, he scored the
TKO victory against 'the Underground King'.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1023403733571522560
Kamaru Usman wasn't a fan of Goddard's performance. The rising welterweight took to Twitter to complain about the decision saying,
"Fuck that referee. I will not fight if that referee is calling my fight. He cost Eddie that fight smfh."
Unsurprisingly, Goddard personified class with his response. He didn't let the heated tweet get a rise out of him. He simply broke down why he made the decision and told Usman that if he didn't want him officiating his fights, he could arrange it.
He even signed off by wishing him well and thanking him.
https://twitter.com/marcgoddard_uk/status/1023406144679596032
Goddard's a better man than most.
