“Let’s fight to the end!” Did the judge take away Sterling’s championship belt?
Sergey Sorokin August 20, 2023, 18:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Aljo’s fans and friends curse the referee who was just doing his job.
UFC 292 will be remembered by all for its absolutely legendary defeat. Sean O’Malley, who prior to the previous fight with Petr Yan was only ranked 11th in the bantamweight division, shot into the kings of him. Sugar in brilliant style defeated the champion – Aljamain Sterling. A brilliant American took off the countryman’s belt from him and presented a strong sensation.
It would seem that a more deserved and unconditional victory cannot be imagined. O’Malley caught his opponent on an error, delivered the most accurate counter to the jaw and engineered a spectacular finishing move. But after the battle, many began looking for someone to blame for this unexpected outcome. And the referee for the fight, Mark Goddard, got under his hand.
We remember the brightest details of the sparkling tournament:
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UFC 292: O’Malley crushes Sterling! Sean breaks Aljo’s incredible domination
One of the first guilty referees was Sterling’s best friend, Merab Dvalishvili. He even expressed the hope that he would never again be in the same octagon with Goddard.
Merab Dvalishvili
Georgian UFC fighter
“Another damn early stop. I will pray that neither my fights nor my teammates’ fights will ever be refereed by Mark Goddard again. We are fighters. Let’s fight to the end.”
Then the flash mob of the Georgian wrestler was literally picked up on social networks. Fans attacked Goddard with insults and accusations. Fans are even calling for Mark to be removed from the judges. All this can be explained by the emotions that, of course, overwhelm the fans of a fighter who sensationally lost his champion belt. But it’s time for them to face the truth.
And the truth is, Goddard just did his job, and he did it well. The judges try to minimize the risk to the health of the fighters. How many cases of arbitration delay led to extremely deplorable consequences. History knows many examples when a duel stopped in time saved a life. Therefore, all attacks in the direction of Mark can hardly be called justified.
Once again, we recall the details of the historic battle:
Sean O’Malley is the new UFC champion! Sugar slashed at the record holder and removed his belt.
After a direct counterpunch to the jaw, Sterling really “missed”. He was clearly visible even in the television image. What to say about the judge, that he was literally half a meter from what was happening. He saw everything in plain sight, so he immediately decided to stop the fight. O’Malley is famous for the fact that the power of his blows is really significant. Therefore, Aljo could suffer a lot.
Goddard would like to wish only patience. After such battles, it can be very difficult to stay true to your principles. Especially when everyone around you accuses you of an unfair decision. But if Sterling had missed a few more punches and his health had been severely damaged, Mark would still have gone extreme. But already because he did not stop this beating in time.
