Was Marc Goddard wrong to pause Arnold Allen vs. Mosvar Evloev fight for illegal knee strikes? Report on state rules shed light on controversy

Referee Marc Goddard did the best he could by stopping the action momentarily in the third round of the featherweight clash between Arnold Allen and Movsar Evloev at UFC 297.

Goddard was forced to pause the fight following a pivotal moment in the final round when Allen grabbed a frontal headlock on his opponent before unloading a trio of knee strikes to the Russian's head.

Watch Marc Goddard stop the fight below:

Evloev's hands were constantly elevating and dropping while sustaining the blows. Per UFC's rules, kneeing a grounded opponent is illegal, and as such, the referees' actions were warranted.

The official, however, showed leniency and refrained from deducting a point from the Englishman.

Furthermore, a social media post by ESPN's Mark Raimondi, following the fight, seconded the official's call by clarifying that if any part of the body, other than the soles of the feet is on the mat while sustaining a kick or knee to the head, such strikes are deemed illegal in the Ontario jurisdiction.

However, simply bearing one's weight on their opponent while delivering a kick or knee strike to the head is allowed.

At UFC 297, Evloev extended his undefeated record to 18-0 with a unanimous decision win against 'Almighty'.

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Is Marc Goddard a former MMA fighter?

Referee Marc Goddard is one of the most well-known officiating officials in mixed martial arts. However, it might be a shock to fight fans that he is a former MMA fighter.

From 2002 to 2008, the Englishman had 14 professional mixed martial arts outings as a heavyweight, registering a record of 7-6-1.

Watch Mark Goddard vs. James Thompson below:

An interesting tidbit is that none of his wins have gone the distance, with three of his victories coming via knockouts and four via submissions. At the time of walking away from active competition, he was on a three-fight unbeaten run.

While Goddard never fought for the UFC, he did have a lone fight at Cage Warriors in 2005, where he succumbed to a first-round submission defeat to Henrique Cesar Nogueira.