Referee Marc Goddard explains Gilbert Burns' allegedly illegal strikes to the back of Stephen Thompson's head at UFC 264
Marc Goddard was the middleman during Gilbert Burns' unanimous decision victory over Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson in the co-main event at UFC 264.
However, many of the strikes landed by Burns in the fight-ending sequence were deemed to be illegal by MMA fans and pundits alike.
Goddard, who was officiating the fight, recently provided an explanation for the controversial final sequence.
After Goddard uploaded a tweet cherishing his UFC 264 experience, he was immediately brought under scrutiny by fans. Questioning his call, a Twitter account named 'Joanna Dangerfield' asked Marc Goddard:
"Marc it was great seeing you reffing the fights but could you talk about the end of the burns Thompson fight and the shots to the back of the head?"
The UFC official was ready with an answer but was concerned about his side of the story getting drowned out.
According to Marc Goddard, only one of the shots from Gilbert Burns glanced off Stephen Thompson's neck, although it may have looked otherwise. Providing slow-motion footage of the sequence, Goddard replied on Twitter:
When Conor McGregor charged at Marc Goddard
Marc Goddard has seen his fair share of controversy over a lifetime of officiating. However, the British MMA referee still might not have been prepared for when Conor McGregor charged at him during a Bellator event dating back to 2017.
Marc Goddard found himself in a heated altercation with the former two-division UFC champion during Bellator 187, which took place at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Goddard was the third man present inside the cage when McGregor's teammate Charlie Ward took on John Redmond in a middleweight bout.
As Conor McGregor entered the cage to celebrate Charlie Ward's first-round stoppage victory he was ordered to leave due to him not being an official member of his corner team.
Marc Goddard was on the receiving end of two shoves from McGregor, whom he had previously asked to shut up during Artem Lobov's fight at UFC Gdanksk.
Conor McGregor had to be escorted away from the cage as chaos ensued all round.
Moments later McGregor turned and charged back towards the cage, even managing to scale it. As he was stopped from stepping inside, McGregor was seen appearing to slap Bellator staff member Mike Johnson.