Veteran referee has perfect solution to UFC's eye poke dilemma

Eye pokes have long been an issue in MMA that require addressing. An illegal strike can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat, and in severe cases, it can significantly impact a fighter's career, as seen with Tom Aspinall. For decades, fighters who commit an illegal strike have typically received just one warning. However, veteran referee Marc Goddard believes he has found a solution to this problem.

During the headlining bout between Brendan Allen and Christian Leroy Duncan, Goddard deducted a point from Duncan after he unintentionally poked Allen's eye with an outstretched finger. This occurred during their first fight as it was his first offense. Goddard's solution is different from merely issuing warnings for illegal strikes.

He believes that warnings should be given prior to stepping into the octagon, and point deductions should be handed out for any offenses committed during the fight. "As referees we go over the rules one to one with fighters in the back before the fight begins, here we specifically cover potential eyes pokes," Goddard explained. "If you watch you will hear me warn CLD in round one for outstretched fingers toward the face.

I then again, before the start of the next round, ask him to be careful & mindful of the hands. It is then when the eye poke occurs do I take definitive action." While this approach may seem simple, Goddard acknowledges that changing fighters' habits ingrained over years of training is a challenging task. "CLD is a credit to the sport of MMA & an exceptional athlete," he added.

"There's so much more, mechanically to addressing eye pokes in MMA both preventatively (before the action) and correctively (after the action) it is very hard to expect an athlete to change 20 years of training & habit with a few minutes of conversation pre fight. Just know that both myself and my colleagues know it is a firm priority to address & fix this."