Marc Goddard says he warned Christian Leroy Duncan about outstretched fingers twice before deducting a point for an eye poke in the UFC Vegas 122 main event.
Goddard refereed Duncan’s fight with Brendan Allen on Saturday night in Las Vegas, which ended when Allen submitted Duncan with a rear-naked choke in the fifth round. The finish meant the judges never had to factor in the deducted point, but it became one of the most discussed calls of the night.
In a statement on X, the veteran referee said eye pokes are covered specifically in the one-on-one rules meeting fighters have in the back before a fight. He said you can hear him warn Duncan in round one about outstretched fingers toward the face, and that he repeated the instruction before round two began.
Allen had complained about Duncan’s hands during the first round. When Duncan caught Allen in the eye in round two, the action stopped and Goddard took the point.
Goddard on the wider eye poke problem
Goddard praised Duncan as an exceptional athlete and did not accuse him of fouling on purpose. He said it is hard to expect a fighter to change 20 years of training habits after a few minutes of conversation before a bout, and that he and his colleagues know it is “a firm priority to address & fix this.”
Eye pokes have been a flashpoint for the UFC since Ciryl Gane’s double eye poke ended his heavyweight title fight with Tom Aspinall at UFC 321, which drew a controversial response from Dana White.
Another deduction on the same card also shaped a result, when a point deduction for Ernesta Kareckaite led to a majority draw with Melissa Gatto.
