Marc Goddard explains his stoppage of the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira clash at UFC 281: "Decisions are over the second they are made, the conscience lives forever"
Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira's championship clash in the main event of UFC 281 had a somewhat controversial ending in the eyes of some courtesy of the referee in charge, Marc Goddard.
Adesanya was ahead in the fight going into the final round and Pereira was urged to go for the finish by his corner. 'Poatan' did exactly that and secured his maiden UFC championship just two minutes into the fifth frame. However, the stoppage was deemed premature by some fans.
Veteran referee Marc Goddard explained his decision in a tweet following criticism from some corners of the MMA community. He wrote:
"Thank you to all who understand the role in which we play, protection is paramount. Decisions are over the second they are made, the conscience lives forever. Honoured, blessed & thankful. On the biggest stage there is, of the fighters, for the fighters - they remain the Kings."
Check out his tweet below:
🏼
Thank you to all who understand the role in which we play, protection is paramount. Decisions are over the second they are made, the conscience lives forever. Honoured, blessed & thankful. On the biggest stage there is, of the fighters, for the fighters - they remain the Kings.🙏🏼 https://t.co/MHe1xGHo8F
Check out the stoppage from Goddard below:
Israel Adesanya doesn't blame Marc Goddard for the stoppage
Israel Adesanya spoke to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour following his defeat, during which he addressed the stoppage in the main event of UFC 281.
'The Last Stylebender' explained his viewpoint and maintained that he was well-equipped to defend himself against the power of his Brazilian opponent:
"I watched the sequence again, I was just like- head down. When I have my head down, I'm still looking at him. I can see the knees coming. I'm looking at his feet, I'm looking at his arms. I couldn't see his head, but when I know where your arms and feet are, I know where your head is. When he stopped it, first thing I go is, 'I'm fine, ref. I'm fine, what the hell.'"
Israel Adesanya also absolved Goddard of any blame due to the pressure of the moment.
However, 'The Last Stylebender' stated that the referee should have shown some faith in him having previously having officiated his incredibly brutal fight against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236:
"Again, I'm a champion, I don't blame him, Marc's a good referee. I agree [he's top two or top three]. But you reffed the Gastelum fight, you've seen where I can go to. You should have that kind of faith in me. And also, you gave Kelvin Gastelum every chance after he got dropped the most in any title fight in UFC's history. So I didn't get dropped, yeah I got wobbled. But I wobbled 'cause of my leg. Again, you're under the pump, it's a big show. It is what it is."
Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on The MMA Hour:
youtu.be/6F0zh8F_K7YIsrael Adesanya says he doesn't blame referee Marc Goddard for his stoppage, but was "fine" when it was stopped. #TheMMAHour
"You reffed the [Kelvin] Gastelum fight. You’ve seen where I can go to. You should have that kind of faith in me.”
▶️ youtu.be/6F0zh8F_K7Y https://t.co/5JFR405j9I