Michael Bisping defends referee Marc Goddard's stoppage at Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira fight – "The psychological advantage for Pereira would have been even bigger"  

Israel Adesanya's title defense against former kickboxing foe Alex Pereira resulted in the first knockout loss of his MMA career. However, the stoppage by referee Marc Goddard was questioned by a section of the fans as being premature.

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping defended the veteran referee's decision on his podcast Believe You Me with Anthony Smith:

"The stoppage, there's a conversation about it being an early stoppage, I don't think it was. I know some people have mentioned it. If Marc didn't jump in to stop the fight when he did, a few more shots, a few more seconds and he would have been flatlined."

Bisping also stated the psychological disadvantage in a potential rematch that Israel Adesanya avoided by not being knocked out cold:

"Goddard did 'Izzy' a favor. Because they are going to rematch, that sounds logical... Pereira's gonna welcome it 'cause now he's beaten him [Izzy] three times. And had 'Izzy' left there unconscious, staring up at the lights, then the psychological advantage for Pereira would have been even bigger."

UFC light heavyweight Smith also agreed that the aesthetic of the loss mattered and would contribute to Adesanya's mental state next time around.

Catch Michael Bisping's full comments on his YouTube channel:

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Israel Adesanya doesn't blame Marc Goddard for UFC 281 loss

Israel Adesanya did protest Marc Goddard's decision immediately after the stoppage but stayed classy afterward by not complaining or criticizing the referee.

Adesanya did, however, speak to Ariel Helwani about the stoppage on The MMA Hour. The former champion maintained that he was well-equipped to defend himself during Pereira's fight-ending onslaught.

He absolved Goddard from any blame and attributed the decision to the pressure of the moment:

"I'm a champion, I don't blame him, Marc's a good referee. I agree [he's top two or top three]... Again, you're under the pump, it's a big show."

'The Last Stylebender' harked back to his battle with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 in 2019, where he survived many tough moments:

"But you [Goddard] reffed the Gastelum fight, you've seen where I can go to. You should have that kind of faith in me. And also, you gave Kelvin Gastelum every chance after he got dropped the most in any title fight in UFC history. So I didn't get dropped, yeah I got wobbled. But I wobbled 'cause of my leg."

He only hoped that the referee would have shown the same restraint he showed in his UFC 236 matchup against Kelvin Gastelum. The interim championship bout was a bloody affair that Adesanya ultimately won, but not before both fighters got knocked around.

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on The MMA Hour: