In the second fight at UFC Vegas 89 a fighter was disqualified after biting his opponent in the middle of the fight. Igor Severino was in a headlock when Andre Lima began protesting something to the referee. Some confusion occurred when it was revealed that Severino may have bitten Lima. After a brief conference with the referees, the fight was called off.
The broadcasters protested the decision because in the replay it wasn't clear if a bite occurred and they felt a warning should have been given first. But then the camera panned onto the arm of Lima and there was a huge mark with clear teeth marks and they suddenly changed their tune, and rightly so. It was a blantant foul and the right call was mande.
The bite looked deep and even broke the skin which is shocking considering he was wearing a mouth guard too.
After the fight Lima referred to the fight as a "David vs. Goliath" style fight, him being the smaller fighter.
MMA Twitter, who has seen it all, took to their timelines to react to the wild moment.
MMA Twitter calls for Igor Severino to be fired after biting controversy
Lads had to bite down hard in round two, eh?
— Peter Carroll (@PetesyCarroll) March 23, 2024
Hard not to think Igor Severino's UFC career is OVER.
— Steven Marrocco (@MMAFightingSM) March 23, 2024
Imagine justifying this shit to normal people “yeah this is a rare thing though”
— Sandi “Banana Chin” Pants💎 (@sandipantsmma) March 23, 2024
He literally bit the fuck out of that man omg pic.twitter.com/GTwjCz3Jd9
— Hannah Rose (@mrsmmacasual) March 23, 2024
Pro fighters also reacted the moment.
Bro out here biting people? What? #UFCFightNight
— Cody Stamann (@CodyStamann) March 23, 2024
Mike Tyson vibes #UFCVegas89 pic.twitter.com/vNYP1vRkhN
— Thiago Moisés (@ThiagoMoisesMMA) March 23, 2024
You bite me and we’re fighting after the fight 😂😂😂
— Jeff Molina (@jmolina_125) March 23, 2024
Look at that bite mark!
— Jared Gordon (@JFlashGordonMMA) March 23, 2024
Severino got that dog in him. Not dawg but dog. That was a nasty bite. #UFCVegas89
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) March 23, 2024
If you can’t do the time, take a bite out of crime!! We got vampires out during the day now! Watch out! #Munch! #UFCVegas89
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 23, 2024
Many felt that Lima was heading towards a win anyway and his undefeated streak remains intact. Lima was making his UFC debut after winning his contract in the Contender Series in October 2023.
Severino was also making his UFC debut after winning his contract on the Contender Series in September. Many fans are calling for him to be stripped of his contract and sent out of the UFC. We'll see if UFC president Dana White has any thoughts about it.
You can follow along live with us for the rest of the card here.