In a sport where controversies are as common as finding a rose in a rose garden, fans often forget one because another always follows. But there are some controversies that become etched in viewers’ minds and continue to infuriate them whenever they resurface. One such incident happened earlier this year when an MMA fighter bit his opponent’s ear, a resurfaced clip of which has drawn fresh backlash from fans months after it happened.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
On February 7, 2026, a serious incident took place at Clash MMA 15 in Jiri Prochazka’s home country, the Czech Republic. During a clinch exchange in Brno, Slovakian fighter Pavol Vasko bit his opponent Vaclav Mikulasek’s ear. Blood gushed from Mikulasek’s ear as the referee immediately jumped in, stopped the fight, and disqualified Vasko on the spot. Following that, the event became even more chaotic when the angry mob of fans seated in the crowd started throwing chairs and even punching Vasko while security was attempting to escort him out of the arena.
Several months after the incident, its virality still hasn’t died down, as clips from that infamous night have recently started flooding social media once again. Prominent MMA journalist Ben Davis also reshared the footage, connecting the incident to the infamous Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield Bite Fight moment.
“MMA community – we’ve had our own Tyson vs Holyfield moment,” Davis wrote on X.
As Davis pointed out, the ear-biting incident at Clash MMA 15 mirrored what happened back in 1997. During their heavyweight rematch for the WBA heavyweight title, Mike Tyson ended up biting off Evander Holyfield’s right ear in the third round. The official for the match, Mills Lane, immediately stopped the fight and disqualified Tyson for the grotesque foul.
However, in Pavol Vasko’s case, the Slovakian fighter’s history of committing vile fouls goes beyond the ear-biting incident. In fact, he allegedly tried to insert his fingers into Mikulasek’s mouth in a fish-hooking manner during their previous fight at Clash MMA 14 and got disqualified. So, this was the second time the MMA fighter had committed a foul against the same opponent, earning himself the tag of a “dirty fighter.”
After videos of Vasko getting beaten with chairs and punched by the crowd resurfaced online, fans still expressed anger at his actions and began calling him out once again, with some even urging promotions to ban the Slovakian fighter for life.
MMA fighter sparks fans’ wrath after ear-biting incident resurfaces
One fan wrote, “Ban him for life.” Following that, a different user, who seemingly enjoyed Vasko getting attacked with chairs, wrote, “Him getting hit by multiple chairs was peak 😂.”
Another fan also brought up the Slovakian MMA fighter committing a fish-hook foul against the same opponent, writing, “Pavol was disqualified a couple months before this for fish hooking the same guy 😂😂.”
The resurfaced clip also seemed to remind one user of another infamous incident. This time, they brought up a notorious moment from the UFC, writing, “Didn’t a guy get bit in the UFC then get a tattoo over the bite mark?”
Here, the fan was trying to remember the incident from UFC Vegas 89 on March 23, 2024, when Brazilian fighter Igor Severino bit his opponent Andre Lima’s arm during the second round. The referee rightfully disqualified Severino from the contest, and the UFC subsequently cut him from the promotion.
“Yeah and the guy that bit him got cut immediately lol,” another user wrote.
Besides that, fans witnessed a similar incident happen last year at OCTAGON promotion, when a fighter tried to bite his opponent’s ear while holding a body lock position from the back.
Last but not least, another fan exasperatedly commented on how fouls like these could ruin what should otherwise be an entertaining MMA bout, writing, “Damn this is why we can’t have nice things.”
Well, it’s hard to deny that a fighter biting his opponent’s ear is an extremely rare occurrence, but it also represents an ugly reality of combat sports, where things can sometimes get seriously out of hand.
