UFC referee Marc Goddard recently opened up about his decision not to officiate a fight involving Leon Edwards. Additionally, he revealed that he had personally asked not to referee the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira.
Goddard Reveals Why He Will Never Officiate Leon Edwards’ Fight
In a recent appearance on Mike Perry’s Overdogs podcast, Goddard explained that he had previously trained Edwards as an amateur mixed martial artist. Due to their prior relationship, he purposefully refrained from refereeing any of Edwards’ UFC fights to avoid any conflict of interest or suspicion of bias. Goddard stated,
”You’ve never seen me referee Leon Edwards in the UFC, and you never will. Why because I was Leon Edwards first coach MMA way way way back when when he was just an amateur. Again, the common sense element for me, with the link, you’ve never seen me referee him and you never will. We’ll just keep it out of the way.”
Marc Goddard explains why he never has, and never will referee a Leon Edwards fight
He also tells the story of when he personally requested not to referee Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira 2
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Regarding the Adesanya vs. Pereira rematch, Goddard requested not to officiate the fight because he wanted to focus on Adesanya. He emphasized that it was Adesanya’s night, saying, “I just don’t want any hassle. And I don’t want to be put in a predicament where I’m making a call that could go against him.”
Goddard’s decision highlights the importance of maintaining impartiality and avoiding potential conflicts when officiating high-stakes MMA bouts.
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