Issue 112
March 2014
Revisiting some of the best moments of a great year, and eyeing the prospects for 2014
MARC GODDARD
Each issue the international referee brings fight fans the ref’s side of the story
Well, that’s 2013 over and done with and all a little too quickly, if you ask me. But what a year it was!
On a personal note, the start of the year was even busier than the end of 2012 had been – something I wouldn’t have thought possible.
I was fortunate enough to be granted some amazing opportunities. In the first few months alone I officiated in Brazil, Japan, Canada, India, Sweden, Cambodia, Poland and Ireland, as well as having to fulfill all my obligations at home in the UK.
Stand-out moments and personal highlights include two amazing and unforgettable fights I was privileged enough to referee.
The first was ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate Brian Stann vs. Wanderlei Silva (UFC on Fuel TV 8) at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Wanderlei is a hero in the Land of the Rising Sun following his unforgettable stint with Pride, and the atmosphere when he made his signature entrance to Sandstorm by Darude was real hairs-on-the-neck stuff.
And, of course, the bout itself was legendary with both men showing the real meaning of toe-to-toe fighting, with neither willing to take a backwards step. Eventually Silva won in the second, which in its own way was a fitting climax.
The second fight, which again probably would have been a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender up to halfway through 2013, was when Johny Hendricks took on Carlos Condit in the co-main event at UFC 158, where then-welterweight champion Georges St Pierre defeated Nick Diaz. The Condit fight was another all-out war that ended with Hendricks cementing his place as the number-one contender for GSP’s belt.
Staying with that theme, 2013 was replete with so many unforgettable matches. Alongside the two I refereed, other notables should surely include Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson (UFC 165), Mark Hunt vs. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva (UFC Fight Night 33) and Diego Sanchez vs. Gilbert Melendez (UFC 166). Yep, good luck when picking your fights of the year.
On another note, MMA continued its meteoric rise thanks largely in part to the UFC staging and promoting a record number of events in 2013, with the promise of even more to come this year.
Elsewhere, British promotion Cage Warriors maintained its expansion in both the UK and Middle East, while also visiting uncharted territories in Chechnya, to notch up a record-breaking year.
And the growth of mixed martial arts shows no signs of abating any time soon following the announcement that a new women’s 115lb division is to be added to the UFC roster – with the news that an all-female series of The Ultimate Fighter will be used to crown the women’s new strawweight champion.
But I cannot talk about 2013 without mentioning the heart-breaking sight of witnessing perhaps the sport’s greatest ever fighter, Anderson Silva, writhing around on the canvas in agony after breaking his leg in his rematch against Chris Weidman (UFC 168). It was so sad to see such a legend of MMA who has given so many unforgettable moments to fans during his record-breaking reign as a champion like that. For me, this just served as a harsh reminder on the realities of the sport. But, while I’m on the subject, I’d just like to pass on my congratulations to the defending and still-reigning champion Chris Weidman, in what has been a defining year for him.
So, with a new series of TUF having been aired in China, with another new territory being opened up in Singapore, with additional weight classes being added, and with rumors of further expansion in to Russia, South Africa and Mexico, to name but a few, things are looking propitious for MMA.
This coming year looks set to be yet another record breaking one. And while I’ve heard many people saying that perhaps the sport is reaching its zenith, and can’t rise any further, I personally believe that MMA is only just finding its feet and still has dizzying new heights to scale.
With that all said, stay lucky in 2014.
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