UFC referee Marc Goddard has revealed why he has requested never to officiate a fight featuring MMA star Leon Edwards.
The British welterweight star is the current UFC welterweight champion, having held the title since August 2022.
He successfully defended the belt twice against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.
But Edwards, who faces Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester in late July, is unlikely to use Goddard as the referee for his next fight, or any fight in fact.
Speaking on the Overdogs podcast, the source revealed a little-known connection between him and the current champion.
He explained: “You've never seen me referee Leon Edwards at UFC, and you probably never will.”
“I was Leon Edwards' first mixed martial arts coach, a long time ago when he was still an amateur.”
“Again, the common sense factor for me is, as far as the rink goes, I've never seen him officiate and I don't think I ever will.
“We try to get that out of the way. We don't want to cause any trouble. And we don't want to get into a corner where we're making decisions that are going to go against him. So it's a win-win.”
Goddard went on to talk about a similar dilemma he faced with another UFC star.
“When Israel Adesanya fought Alex Pereira for the second time in Miami, I specifically asked him not to fight him. The first fight was [which Adesanya lost],” he began.
“I asked not to call the match because I was thinking about Izzy. I've been his referee ever since. I've also refereed his matches with Sean Strickland.”
“At the time, I was thinking about my fighter. This was his night, this was for him. I didn't want to go into the dressing room and have any negative connotations towards him.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty / Overdogs Podcast
Topics: UFC, Leon Edwards, MMA
