Marc Goddard has seen it all during his epic career as an MMA referee.
The former fighter has been the man in the middle for some of the greatest moments in the sports history, including Max Holloway’s last-gasp KO over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April.
3Goddard screamed when Holloway slept Gaethje with a second left on the clockCredit: Getty
However, he says one fight he officiated stands out from the rest.
In fact, it was so epic Goddard got emotional when it was over.
Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum battered each other for 25 minutes when they clashed with the interim middleweight title on the line at UFC 236 in 2019.
Both men had their moments during the five-round affair, but it ended with Adesanya badly hurting his opponent and hunting for the finish in the final seconds.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan was screaming for the fight to be stopped.
Goddard let Gastelum hear the final bell before Adesanya earned a unanimous decision victory and began his first reign as the 185lb king.
“The number one is, every day of the week, twice on a Sunday, is Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum,” the veteran referee said when asked what is the best fight he’s ever officiated on talkSPORT MMA’s ‘Uncaged’ podcast.
“You find one moment in your life when you think, ‘I’m not going to go away.’
“In this fight, you had two guys in the exact same moment that wouldn’t go away. I couldn’t believe what I was watching unfold in front of me.
“I remember that there’s a clip at the beginning of the fifth round and Israel’s looking across him saying, ‘I’m prepared to die.’ Now, I’m not looking at this, I’ve seen it afterwards.
3Adesanya became a UFC champion by winning an epic five-round warCredit: Getty
3Goddard told talkSPORT MMA what it was like to referee a modern classicCredit: talkSPORT MMA – YouTube
“Two fighters that went into the deepest, darkest depths of their soul and they went into the deepest, darkest waters possible in a fight and I was right alongside them, standing three-foot away, witnessing this unfold.
“If you go back and watch that last ten seconds of the fight and Rogan is going, ‘Stop it! Stop it!’ In my head, I’m going, ‘F*** no! F*** no!’”
Goddard admits there were points where he could’ve called off the fight.
After seeing both men push themselves beyond the brink, the 50-year-old ran backstage because he was emotional about what he had just witnessed.
Goddard added: “There could’ve been a point [where I stopped it] because Kelvin Gastelum, Izzy had him on the depths of f****** despair in that final round.
“That’s the deepest, darkest point I’ve ever seen a fighter go to and be allowed to finish that round.
“As soon as I know they’re safe, I f****** run off with my head in my hands.
“I won’t be ashamed to say, I’ve cried after that fight watching it back because it was ungodly what those guys did. It was ungodly.”
