Veteran referee Marc Goddard was not impressed with a recent cross-gender mixed martial arts fight that took place in Russia.
Footage from an event called “OUR BUSINESS” recently went viral as it showcased a 529-pound man named Grigory Chistyakov taking on a 139-pound female fighter Darina Madzyuk.
Madzyuk would win the contest via TKO which you can see below:
Goddard: This Is What We Are Dealing With
Goddard didn’t find any humor in it, though.
In fact, he believes events such as these are the reason why outsiders and detractors have a false perception of the sport.
“This is what we are dealing with – in 2020. This is what we are fighting against as the parallels & negative connotations are continually drawn. To outsiders & detractors this is MMA. Shameful. Sickening. Abysmal. 😔”
This is what we are dealing with – in 2020. This is what we are fighting against as the parallels & negative connotations are continually drawn. To outsiders & detractors this is MMA. Shameful. Sickening. Abysmal. 😔 https://t.co/lWDyXy7R0z
— Marc Goddard (@marcgoddard_uk) November 28, 2020
Goddard is no stranger to voicing his opinion on social media and while this certainly doesn’t put MMA in a good light, it’s definitely not a regular occurrence either which is partly the reason it became so viral.
He wasn’t alone either in voicing his disbelief that such an event was staged either. Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren also weighed in with a shorter message.
“WTF is even going on in Russia.”
WTF is even going on in Russia https://t.co/JXQ1B71m0u
— Funky (@Benaskren) November 28, 2020
Hopefully, this doesn’t start a trend and become the norm with smaller promotions.
