Referees John McCarthy, Marc Goddard criticize ‘shameful’ late stoppage in Maiquel Falcao fight

It’s not everyday you see referees criticizing one of their own in the tight-knit world of mixed martial arts, but it’s also not everyday you see a stoppage as egregious as the one that went down Friday at the Fight Night Global 63 event in Vladivostok, Primorsky, Russia.

In the night’s co-main event, UFC and Bellator veteran Maiquel Falcao wound up on the receiving end of one of the worst late stoppages you’ll ever see in his rematch against middleweight prospect Vladimir Mineev. The call was so indefensible that it prompted responses from veteran referees Marc Goddard and John McCarthy, including a particularly angry one from Goddard.

Video and gifs of the incident can be seen below, along with Goddard and McCarthy’s comments — although be warned, the video is not for the faint of heart. (The beginning of the end starts around the 5:25 mark.)