UFC News: Marc Goddard responds to Colby Covington's criticism after main event

Colby Covington was one of the few people who felt that the stoppage at UFC 245 wasn't correct. Unfortunately for the title challenger, it was. He was knocked down twice, had a broken jaw and at the end, did nothing to "intelligently defend himself" - thus justifying Marc Goddard's decision to end the fight and handing Kamaru Usman the TKO win.

Colby Covington was anything but pleased about it and took to Twitter to call Goddard a "fake ref"

“Normally people do their f**king in the bedroom, not the octagon @marcgoddard_uk! I go in there to kill or be killed. You robbed me of that. You robbed the people of a fair fight. You should be ashamed of yourself. Fake nut shot. Fake eye poke. Fake stoppage. Fake ref. #ufc245”

Marc Goddard was quick to reply to Covington and he showed nothing but respect to both competitors.

Raw emotion & the highest of stakes, fighting is like nothing else on earth. I respect each & every person I stand between & I will give you all I’ve got. I am a human being. Thank you to all who understand what I have put into this game, that will never stop. God bless. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QryagWadpi

— Marc Goddard (@marcgoddard_uk) December 15, 2019

While every referee, including Goddard, has made mistakes before, this wasn't one of them. Bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling and former Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman seemed to think that Covington was "intelligently defending himself", but the vast majority appeared to disagree with him.

If you see the visuals toward the end, Goddard is undoubtedly justified in his decision. Either way, we expect this tide to overturn eventually. Kamaru Usman is still the Champion and will be looking for new challenges in the likes of Leon Edwards or Jorge Masvidal, while Covington will be out for a while with a broken jaw. It's going to be interesting to see what's next for him.

Dana White expressed interest in booking Covington vs former Champion Tyron Woodley, but The Chosen One would likely have to wait a lot longer if he were to expect that fight. He hasn't fought since losing the title to Kamaru Usman earlier in 2019.