Igor Severino bites Andre Lima: When Royce Gracie acknowledged the "no biting" rule way before the UFC had a proper ruleset
Igor Severino's promotional debut at UFC Vegas 89 ended in disqualification on Saturday after he bit fellow newcomer Andre Lima during their flyweight bout.
In the second round, Severino had Lima in a rear hold before the 20-year-old appeared to lean in and bite Lima on his left arm. 'Mascote' raised his arm to show the bite mark to referee Chris Tognoni, leading officials to pause the action in the octagon for a review of the footage. Upon inspection, visible bite marks were evident, prompting Tognoni to disqualify Severino from the fight at 2:52.
Although some consider mixed martial arts barbaric, particularly in its early days with limited rules, the initial bouts appear exceptionally brutal compared to today's refined UFC events. Devoid of judges, time limits, or rounds, each fight had to conclude via knockout, submission, or the opponent's corner conceding defeat.
Royce Gracie, recognized as the first-ever UFC champion and a highly esteemed figure in the world of jiu-jitsu, once offered insights into the misconceptions surrounding the early UFC matches. Contrary to the portrayal of these fights as having no rules, Gracie acknowledged in an interview with The Independent that this notion was not entirely accurate.
He stated that only two rules were strictly enforced—no biting and no eye gouging:
"It was hard to find participants to accept the rules. There were no rules. ‘Do I need boxing gloves?' Nope. ‘Do I need shin pads?' Nope. 'Everything goes?' Yep. 'But what if I kick him in the nuts?' It’s okay. The only rules were no eye gouging and no biting. So it was very simple."
Dana White axes Igor Severino over biting Andre Lima
Igor Severino's disqualification marks a historic event in the UFC, as he becomes the first fighter to be ousted for biting an opponent. Consequently, his tenure in the octagon has come to an end.
Initially, Dana White confirmed Severino's contract release to MMA reporter Kevin Iole, a confirmation later reiterated by the broadcast team at UFC Vegas 89.
Meanwhile, Andre Lima showed little concern over the incident, taking to Instagram hours after the fight to share that he had gotten a tattoo of the bite as a commemoration. The tattoo, located in the same spot as the original bite, seemingly replicates the marks left on his arm by Igor Severino.
The UFC CEO expressed admiration for Lima's tattoo, announcing on his Instagram story that he would double the Brazilian's fight bonus to $50,000. He wrote:
"This is AWESOME."