I think its safe to say that former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Colby Covington hasn’t been quiet since losing to Kamaru Usman at UFC 245.
The 31-year-old has nearly blamed everybody but himself over his loss against Usman including referee Marc Goddard, who stated on
Ariel Helwani’s MMA show that Goddard shouldn’t be allowed to referee another UFC fight (Transcript courtesy of South China Morning Post):
“I’m fighting two people in the Octagon, [Usman] and a corrupt, incompetent ref ... Marc Not-so-goodard robbed the people of a fair fight. This needs to be run back and, if it’s not, it’s a very corrupt business and it’s a fix. I thought a referee was supposed to be a fly on the wall, but instead he makes it about him ... It’s pathetic and Marc Goddard should never ref a UFC fight again in his entire life.
“I knew he had it out for me the second he came out of the locker room,” added Covington, recalling their tense pre-fight conversation.
“Don’t make this show about you, man. He’ll never ref one of my fights as long as I live, I promise you that.”
Goddard has remained silent over the situation; however, the UFC referee finally addressed Covington’s words on
Dan Hardy’s “Listen!,” maintaining that he made the right decision (Transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie):
“(It was a) difficult fight. I know I handled it on the money, to a T,” Goddard said.
“I’m seeing things unfold, and I see Colby 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 obviously he stays in that turtle position started on the double, then 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, with everything I saw, etc.”
Goddard states that the fighters safety comes first and while he admits that he could’ve let the fight go on, he justifies his decision due to Covington being in a war against Usman for nearly 24 minutes:
“I’m looking at Colby, and then I see the damage he’s sustained, the two knockdowns, etc.,” Goddard said. “When you are face down, when I can’t see you, I can’t read you. It’s difficult for me to … that exasperates everything further. So I’m now trying to compute in my mind: ‘Are you there, (or) are you not?’
“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 that’s the point I make when I’m assessing what happened, assessing the position he’s in: two knockdowns, (and) he’s being punched.”