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DC Recalls Wanting to ‘Bite’ Jon Jones After Reflecting on Mike Tyson’s ‘Biting’ Proclivity

Published 03/26/2024, 3:57 PM EDT

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History was made at last week’s UFC Fight Night Vegas 89 card and it will be remembered forever as the first time a fighter bit another fighter in the history of the sport. Undefeated UFC debutante Igor Severino bit Andre Lima, also undefeated and making his promotional debut during a clinch in the second round of their flyweight bout.

The fight was stopped and Severino was disqualified. Dana White and the UFC cut Severino soon after his first fight in the UFC. And it reminded Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen of Mike Tyson’s famous ear-biting incident.

UFC incident reminds Daniel Cormier of Mike Tyson

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On his ‘Good Guy/ Bad Guy’ show with Chael Sonnen, UFC commentator and former champion Daniel Cormier recalled his conversation with Joe Rogan about Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield at their 1997 clash and Lennox Lewis at their contentious press conference in 2002.

“I’m talking to Rogan on his show and we’re talking about Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield but then Mike Tyson also bit Lennox Lewis at a press conference, so Mike was kind of known for biting dudes,” he said.

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The former light heavyweight champion revealed that he could understand the instinct to bite one’s opponent during a tussle since he himself had almost bitten Jon Jones during their brawl at the UFC 178 press tour. However, he was surprised to see it in the octagon and was puzzled at Severino’s decision to do so.

“And I said it’s not that far-fetched Joe because when me and Jones flew off the stage I thought about biting him Chael. Because when you’re an alpha male and you find yourself in an uncomfortable, unfamiliar position you start to think ‘how do I get out of this?’ Your immediate reaction is to go to biting. This dude Igor actually decided to do it inside the octagon, it’s unheard of,” he added.

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Dana White gives $50k bonus to Lima

After the bite, Lima got a permanent tattoo of it on his arm to commemorate his historic UFC debut, which saw him improve his undefeated record to 8-0 and a bonus. He took to his Instagram page to share the tattoo and thanked the UFC CEO for the $50k.

“It was so insane I had to make it permanent! A debut to remember! Thanks boss Dana White! Ready for many more!” Lima wrote.

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Dana White later revealed that he was originally planning to give Lima a $25k bonus for getting bit, but decided to throw in another $25k after seeing that he got the bite marks inked on his bicep. “I was going to give him $25k. Now I’m giving him $50k. This is awesome,” the UFC CEO told Kevin Iole.

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Written by:

Kanishk Thakur

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Kanishk Thakur is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports with nearly 5 years of professional writing experience. Kanishk has expertly covered the heated rivalries of the fight game, and delivered meticulous reports of payouts of PPV events and Fight Nights, in addition to covering the personal side of fighters outside the sport. He is also an ardent Joe Rogan fan, who hopes to draw in more fans to the sport as Rogan did for him.
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Edited by:

Smrutisnat Jena