Goddard explains controversial Simon vs. Dvalishvili finish

Ricky Simon made his UFC debut vs. Merab Dvalishvili on Saturday night, and was on the verge of losing a clear decision when in the closing seconds of the fight he stuck his opponent in a guillotine from top mount. Although Dvalishvili never tapped out, he lost. New Jersey State Athletic Control Board regulators determined that Dvalishvili was out at the final bell and awarded the fight to Simon via TKO at 5:00 of Round 3, the latest finish in UFC history for a three-round fight.

Dvalishvili disagreed with the decision.

I just waited because there was only a short amount of time left, said Dvalishvili, as transcribed by Shaun Al-Shatti for MMA Fighting. When it was finished, I was just tired and stayed down. I knew I had won.

It doesn’t take a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. Watch the wild tape and make your own determination.

Although Marc Goddard was not the ref for the fight, he was part of the regulator huddle that determined the bout outcome. During an appearance on the FOX Sports 1 post-fight show, Goddard explained what happened.

I think it was pretty clear at the end of the fight, maybe even before, when the bell sounded, Dvalishvili … he was out, said Goddard. He was actually out. And in that instance, it’s like any other instance if you pick up a rear-naked choke or a guillotine. The fact that he drifts into unconsciousness was actually — it should be recorded as a submission, technical submission.

The referee Liam Kerrigan, to his credit, when he saw [Dvalishvili] was out, he actually waved it off. And I think there was a little bit of a rush, people thought we were going to try and read the scorecards, so I said, ‘No, no, no. The guy has lost the fight.’ Even though he came around pretty sharp afterwards, he most definitely lost the fight under the ruling and the right guy went away with the win.