Referee Marc Goddard is speaking out after being questioned over a point deduction he made during the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Duncan
event.You don’t see a whole lot of point deductions in mixed martial arts (MMA). Usually a referee will give fighters endless warnings as they grab the fence, deliver low blows, and stick their fingers into their opponents’ eyes. Goddard bucked that trend this past weekend when he deducted a point from Christian Leroy Duncan in the second
round for an eye poke. His first eye poke!
Those expecting Duncan to get the typical freebie were shocked at Goddard’s extreme decision, and now the British referee is speaking out online regarding that decision.
“I’d like to offer some clarity on this as I believe it’s a teachable moment & gives insight into what we are doing as officials to overcome certain obstacles,” Goddard wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “As referees we go over the rules one to one with fighters in the back before the fight begins, here we specifically cover potential eyes pokes.”
“If you watch you will hear me warn [Christian Leroy Duncan] in round one for outstretched fingers toward the face,” he continued. “I then again, before the start of the next round, ask him to be careful & mindful of the hands. It is then when the eye poke occurs do I take definitive action.”
MMA referees have been gathering to discuss how to fix eye pokes for years now and the current idea is to warn fighters for outstretched fingers and then penalize when that behavior results in a finger going in the eyes. Few referees have followed through on the penalize portion of things, but Goddard says it’s an essential part of changing the sport so less eye pokes happen.
“There’s so much more, mechanically, to addressing eye pokes in MMA both preventatively (before the action) and correctively (after the action),” Goddard wrote. “It is very hard to expect an athlete to change 20 years of training and habit with a few minutes of conversation pre-fight. Just know that both myself and my colleagues know it is a firm priority to address & fix this.”
It’s honestly nice to see a fighter lose a point for an eye poke for once. Referees have been so obsessed with how intentional a foul is that it encourages reckless behavior from fighters. The victim of the foul isn’t any less impaired because an eye poke or low blow is accidental or not. So penalize the one committing the foul! We are here for it!
