Marc Goddard Issues Statement On Bellator 187 Incident With Conor McGregor

The MMA world was thrown into complete upheaval when UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor crashed the cage in celebration following a victory by his teammate Charlie Ward at yesterday’s (Fri., November 10, 2017) Bellator 187 from Dublin, Ireland.

McGregor was shown from many angles jumping recklessly into the cage and onto Ward, and when referee Marc Goddard gave him a slight push to let him make sure Ward’s potentially concussed opponent John Redmond was okay, “The Notorious” responded by shoving Goddard back even harder.

After doing that he left the cage but returned to slap a security guard.

The incident was only the latest in a suddenly-blossoming beef between McGregor and Goddard, as the experienced referee scolded McGregor at last month’s UFC Fight Night from Gdansk, Poland, when McGregor got too animated and close to the cage while rooting for teammate Artem Lobov while he was fighting Andre Fili.

Earlier this morning, Goddard issued a somewhat vague statement about the incident online reaffirming his commitment to the fight game and how operates based on his beliefs. McGregor was not named.

Check out his statement here:

I operate with integrity, belief and values.

I hold MMA in a deep rooted place in my life and have considered myself most fortunate to have done so for so long.

Family first. Everything else second.

Respect.

— Marc Goddard (@marcgoddard_uk) November 11, 2017