UFC Vegas 120 Corner Decision Raises Serious Questions About Fighter Safety

UFC Vegas 120 had several memorable performances. Quillan Salkilld proved he’s a legit lightweight contender with his first-round submission of Mateusz Gamrot. The career of Darren Elkins was celebrated, while Yadier Del Valle made his own statement with a brutal finish in seconds. Even Ty Miller had a dominant striking display that gained him more momentum.

Unfortunately, that last part also had a moment that wound up many people and spoiled what was otherwise a fine night of action in the newly revamped Meta Apex.

Miller competed in the opening bout of the UFC Vegas 120 main card, taking on Billy Ray Goff. This was Miller’s second opportunity in the Octagon since winning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. He made his UFC debut at UFC 324 in January, where he scored a performance bonus-earning first-round finish of Adam Fugitt. Goff, a DWCS alumnus from 2022, meanwhile, was trying to avoid his third straight defeat.

As stated earlier, the bout was completely one-sided in Miller’s favor. Goff attempted to use his clinch and pin Miller to the fence, hoping to use his grappling to limit Miller’s striking. But that strategy quickly became null as Miller defended Goff’s grappling and takedown attempts, busting him up with a number of jabs, elbows, and head kicks.

As things went into round two, things got worse for Goff. Miller picked him apart ruthlessly with combinations. One particular one-two ended up dropping Goff, as Miller swarmed him, trying to finish the fight. Miller didn’t find the finish, but Goff looked completely bruised and battered heading into the final frame.

Now, this is the part where, as a corner, Goff’s team should assess the situation, try to give some sound advice to help Goff in the final round (where he’d desperately need a finish), and – especially in this kind of scenario – decide whether it’s worth sending Goff out again.

And considering that Goff had the mark on his face that usually appears to indicate a broken orbital bone, it by all means should be where you consider withdrawing the fighter.

So, what did Goff’s team tell him?

These were the exact words captured by broadcast cameras: “Catch your breath. Listen, just stay away from him this whole round. Just don’t engage him at all. Okay? You just have to circle. Stay away…I don’t know what’s going on. We’re not fighting…you just got to circle the cage.”

Excuse me, WHAT?

Daniel Cormier rightfully ripped Goff’s corner a whole new one. It’s one thing to tell a fighter to use his range and fight from distance. It’s another to tell a fighter to do something that, by the Unified Rules of MMA, could fall under timidity and cause a disqualification.

Fighters can be too tough for their own good; cornermen have a responsibility to not just help their fighter, but also to protect their fighter. They have the responsibility to advise their fighter “It’s time to fight another day.” When you’re in a situation where it seems like you have no idea what to do, as one of Goff’s cornermen clearly seemed by his words, it’s time to pull out of the fight.

If you want to rip the referee for allowing this fight to go into the third, sure. We’ve had this talk about officials before. But there’s an issue here – the referee had to even protect Goff from HIS OWN CORNERMEN.

Why didn’t Goff’s corner throw in the towel? Did they think it was too humiliating? Did Goff advise them not to? There are answers we need about this kind of situation – because this fight was clearly over at the end of round two.

Nothing should be taken away from Miller’s performance; it was stellar, and the guy deserves another opportunity to impress in the near future.

As for Goff, perhaps it’s time to think about potentially finding a new team to work with.