Fighter shoves referee Marc Goddard repeatedly after earning submission, gets disqualified

There’s no better referee at controlling matters inside the cage than Marc Goddard.

However, Goddard found himself in another melee with a fighter when refereeing a featherweight bout between Ahmad Al Darmaki and Bogdan Kirilenko at UAE Warriors 12 on Friday.

Al Darmaki secured a deep rear-naked choke near the end of Round 1, but after Kirilenko tapped out, Al Darmaki refused to let go. Goddard tried to peel Al Darmaki’s arms off, causing a heated reaction out of the Abu Dhabi-based fighter. Al Darmaki got in Goddard’s face, proceeding to shove him multiple times. As a result, Al Darmaki was disqualified and Bogdan was announced as the winner.

You can see the incident below (via Twitter):

Goddard tried to control the situation as best as he can, but Al Darmaki wasn’t having it. Al Darmaki did apologize after, but it was inexcusable behavior nonetheless.

Goddard is no stranger to heated exchanges with fighters, with Conor McGregor once confronting him after Goddard attempted to break up McGregor’s embrace with his victorious teammate, Charlie Ward, at Bellator 187. McGregor was not a licensed cornerman for the fight.

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