Video | Fighter disqualified after shoving referee Marc Goddard

Featherweight Ahmad Al Darmaki was disqualified after shoving veteran MMA referee Marc Goddard at a UAE Warriors event in Abu Dhabi on Friday.

Al Darmaki (2-6) submitted his opponent Bogdan Kirilenko with a vicious rear-naked choke but Al Darmaki refused to let go of the chokehold when Goddard tried to wave off the fight. Goddard yanked Al Darmaki off of his defenseless opponent and Al Darmaki was then seen shoving the referee and grabbing onto his shirt. Instead of winning the fight via submission, Goddard instead rightfully disqualified Al Darmaki instead.

Watch the video below.

Ahmad Al Darmaki was just DQ’d after he refused to release an RNC against Bogdan Kirilenko. Things got physical between him and ref Marc Goddard.#UAEWarriors12 pic.twitter.com/XF1azA1Jzs

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 31, 2020

Ahmad Al Darmaki was just DQ’d after he refused to release an RNC against Bogdan Kirilenko. Things got physical between him and ref Marc Goddard.

The British-based Goddard is generally considered to be one of the top officials in mixed martial arts. He has officiated numerous title fights in the UFC over the years and is often ranked by fighters, fans, and media as one of the top referees in the game today.

However, like most referees at the highest level of this sport, he has been involved in controversy from time to time for his officiating. The most notable instance of this was Goddard’s stoppage in the Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington main event at UFC 245. After Covington got knocked down late in the fifth round, Goddard stopped the fight via TKO in favor of Usman, which led to Covington going on a long-winded verbal assault of Goddard in several interviews for what he felt was an early stoppage.

Do you believe Ahmad Al Darmaki deserved to lose via DQ after shoving Marc Goddard?