Britain’s own Marc Goddard is undoubtedly one of the most experienced officials in the entire sport of MMA, having been the third man in the octagon for a host of outstanding world title fights.
Yet there are certain fights that stand out in the memory more than others, with the veteran referee recently revealing which UFC title bout was so brilliant and bloodthirsty that it later caused him to break down in tears.
Referee Marc Goddard on which UFC fight made him weep with joy
Speaking with Adam Catterall and PFL superstar Brendan Loughnane via TalkSPORT MMA, veteran referee Marc Goddard would reveal his top three favorite fights of all time, from an officials’ point of view.
Number three on his list was the 2022 light heavyweight title bout between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira; followed by a close second-place regional fight from 2010 between Alex Reid and Tom Watson.
So, what was his number one best fight of all time – “Every day of the week and twice on Sundays… Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum.”
That bout took place back in April 2019 and is easily one of the best title fights in UFC history; with Adesanya ultimately winning the contest via a unanimous decision and leaving the State Farm arena as the interim middleweight champion.
“I fought before and I didn’t fight at UFC level, I wasn’t good enough, but my second coming was as an official and there’s one moment in your life, and that’s why I can retire happy, when you think ‘I’m not going to go away’ and in this fight, you had two guys in the exact same moment who wouldn’t go away… I couldn’t believe what I was watching unfold in front of me.”
One of the most famous clips from that fight was before the fifth and final round started, in which the UFC cameras picked up Adesanya muttering through swollen lips how he was ‘Prepared to die’ for the win.
“Now I’m not looking at this, I’ve only seen it afterwards but honestly mate, that fight; when you’ve got two fighters like that who went to the deepest, darkest depths of their soul and they went into the deepest, darkest waters imaginable or possible in a fight.
“I was right alongside them, standing three-foot away watching this unfold and if you go back and you’re watching those last 10 seconds, and Rogan’s going ‘Stop it, stop it!’ and in my head, I’m going ‘F*** no!’”
Adesanya had Gastelum down four separate times throughout the course of the 25-minute war, a record for the most knockdowns in a UFC title fight.
“Izzy had him on the depths of f***** despair in that final round,” stated Goddard, before admitting how “That’s the deepest and darkest point that I’ve ever seen a fighter go to and allowed to finish that round.”
In fact, the fight was such an outstanding spectacle that Goddard would be brought to tears as he later re-watched the contest: “Watch the fight when it finishes, I f***** run off straight away.
“As soon as I know that they’re safe, I run off and have my head in my hands and I won’t be ashamed to say that I cried watching that fight back because it was just ungodly what those guys did, ungodly.”
Unsurprisingly, Adesanya vs Gastelum would be honored with the ‘Fight of the Year’ by both the UFC and Dana White directly in his UFC Honors President’s Choice awards.