Referee Marc Goddard Puts Conor McGregor in His Place at UFC Fight Night 118

Conor McGregor was in attendance at UFC Gdansk to support his training partner and friend, Artem Lobov on Saturday. That's all well and good, of course. It's nice to see that kind of camaraderie in the dog-eat-dog world of combat sports and it's nice to see that McGregor can train with somebody and resist the urge to bury their career on social media with heavily edited videos (see: Paulie Malignaggi, Chris van Heerden).

What wasn't nice, however, was how McGregor was circling the cage to shout advice to his friend during the contest, functionally serving as an unsanctioned fourth cornerman that had the luxury of moving around. Well, referee Marc Goddard was having none of that and, during the bout, stopped the action and told McGregor to get back in his seat in the stands.

It was a tough—but fair—call from the veteran referee on a fighter that has been handled delicately by most officials. It was also a tough blow for Lobov, who went on to lose the fight by unanimous decision.

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