Referee Marc Goddard Breaks Down Effect Of ‘MMA Culture’ On Corner Stoppages

Referee Marc Goddard thinks that MMA officials and coaches can come on the same page about knowing when to stop the fight only with time and more knowledge.

Though referees stop fights, majority of the time they wait until the situation gets ugly or one fighter falls off. Goddard feels that MMA is a relatively new sport, that’s why it needs time.

In recent years, coaches of fighters like Calvin Kattar, Anthony Smith and some others faced a lot of criticism for not tossing over the towel to the fighter when things get dicey for their fighters.

“It’s the MMA culture,” Goddard recently told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.

“Things are still being figured out, things are still being learned, and yes, you will see it far more regularly in boxing. I’m not saying MMA coaches are any less persuasive or demand any less from their fighters. Of course, they love and care for them just the same. But it’s a definite culture thing.”

“There’s a certain visual aesthetic when it comes to MMA, because, by-in-large, the cast majority, 99.9 percent of fights in MMA are finished on the ground,” Goddard explained.

“People just aren’t used to seeing fighters being stopped on their feet.

Goddard has also served as the third man in several marquee matchups, world title UFC fights and other promotions.

“For myself, I don’t care what’s at stake. I stopped a UFC world championship fight from a standing fighter. Because as a referee, there’s a marker in a fight: Two fighters come out and the fight begins competitive.”