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Despite being billed as having "no rules" in its earliest days, the UFC is now a highly sanctioned sport with a lengthy rulebook for its fighters to follow.
Unfortunately, over the years we have seen some fighters flagrantly ignore the rules set by the UFC, coming under fire for it in the process.
Whether these fighters were being intentionally dirty, or whether they made a simple error is up for debate. What isn't questionable, though, is that these moments cost them.
Here are five of the dirtiest moments in UFC history.
#5. Andre Lima vs. Igor Severino - UFC Vegas 89
Biting is obviously a no-no in the UFC, both from the perspective of the rulebook and also from a purely sporting viewpoint.
Thankfully, the dirty act has largely been rare in the octagon, with the only memorable accusation being on heavyweight Mike Kyle in a 2004 bout.
However, that all changed at this weekend's event in Las Vegas in the bout between debutants Andre Lima and Igor Severino.
The fight was already shaping up to be a dirty one when Lima was warned for both a fence grab and punches to the back of the head in the first round. Few fans could've predicted what would happen next, though.
Shortly after Lima was warned for another fence grab in the second round, the two fighters found themselves in a clinch. In a bizarre moment, referee Chris Tognoni was forced to step in after a complaint from Lima.
It quickly transpired that during the clinch, Severino had decided to bite Lima's left arm, outright breaking the skin. It was a shocking visual, and one that instantly drew Tognoni to call for a disqualifcation.
In the aftermath of the event, Severino was unsurprisingly released from his contract for the dirty act, while Lima was rewarded a $50k bonus for 'Bite of the Night' - and also decided to commemorate the incident with a tattoo.
#4. Renato 'Babalu' Sobral vs. David Heath - UFC 74
The fighter who is usually synonymous with holding onto submission holds for far too long is former middleweight contender Rousimar Palhares.
However, when 'Toquinho' overly cranked a hold, it never appeared to come from a place of outright malice towards his foes. The same could not be said for his fellow Brazilian Renato 'Babalu' Sobral in 2007.
Sobral, a longtime UFC veteran who'd challenged for the light heavyweight title a year prior, was faced with David Heath that summer, and their rivalry soon became personal.
According to Sobral, Heath got a little too intense during the weigh-in staredown and called him a "motherf*cker," something he didn't take too kindly to.
So when 'Babalu' caught his foe in a tight brabo choke in the second round of their bout, rather than release him when he tapped, he simply gritted his teeth and squeezed harder.
In the end, Heath fell unconscious in a pool of his own blood while referee Steve Mazzagatti attempted to pull Sobral off.
The incident saw the crowd completely turn on 'Babalu', booing him mercilessly, and worse was to come as he was cut from his UFC contract shortly after. Following this dirty moment, he would never fight in the octagon again.
#3. Ron Faircloth vs. Alessio Sakara - UFC 55
Low blows are, unfortunately, part and parcel of the fight game in the UFC, particularly with the prevalence of leg kicks being used in the octagon.
However, on the odd occasion, we've seen fighters seemingly throw low blows intentionally, even if this is very difficult to actually prove. One such example came in 2005, when debutants Alessio Sakara and Ron Faircloth faced off in a light heavyweight tilt.
A former professional boxer, it quickly transpired that Sakara had far quicker hands than his opponent, and in a one-sided opening round, he proved it. 'Legionarius' stunned Faircloth on multiple occasions with rapid-fire combos, and it looked like he'd be well on his way to a win.
However, in the opening seconds of the second round, Faircloth changed that with a kick square to the Italian's groin. Sakara collapsed in a heap, and when he began to dry heave, it was quickly apparent that he could not continue, forcing the referee to throw the fight out.
The bout was declared a no contest, but it was hard not to believe that Faircloth had seen a way out of a fight he was losing and taken it - making this one a more dirty low blow than most.
#2. Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera - UFC 127
While he eventually became a widely respected and well-liked veteran, at his peak, Michael Bisping was arguably the most hated villain in the UFC.
Part of this was due to his abrasive personality and his rivalry with the all-American Dan Henderson, but part of it was also due to his dirty performance against Jorge Rivera.
'El Conquistador' had riled Bisping up with a series of inflammatory videos prior to their clash, and it seemed that 'The Count' was hell-bent on revenge. Unfortunately for Rivera, he was also happy to go to any lengths to take it.
Midway through the first round, Bisping blocked a takedown attempt - and then reared back to deliver a blatantly illegal knee to the face of the downed Rivera.
The referee stepped in and immediately docked Bisping a point, but realistically, the fight should've been stopped as Rivera was so badly wobbled.
Instead, he continued, and was TKO'd in the second round. Bisping wasn't done, though, and during his celebrations, he decided to spit at Rivera's cornerman before telling 'El Conquistador' to "go home, loser!"
The incident turned 'The Count' into the UFC's biggest heel, and while it was hard not to see why he'd been so angered by Rivera's videos, whether he needed to perform like this was debatable.
#1. Paul Daley vs. Josh Koscheck - UFC 113
The dirtiest moment in UFC history actually took place after a fight had ended, rather than during it. It saw the promising career of one fighter go up in smoke, and somehow transformed the victim in the incident into an even bigger villain in the process.
The moment in question, of course, took place after the infamous bout between welterweights Paul Daley and Josh Koscheck in 2010.
The two rivals were jockeying for a shot at then-170 pound champ Georges St-Pierre, but they were also seemingly competing to see who could garner more hate from the crowd.
In the early going, it felt like that spot would go to Koscheck. In the first round, he appeared to overact when Daley grazed him with an illegal knee, resulting in 'Semtex' being deducted a point.
However, after Koscheck went on to dominate the fight with his wrestling, talking trash to Daley all the way, the British fighter looked ready to explode.
Once the final buzzer sounded, both men got to their feet - and Daley suddenly lunged at his foe, clocking him from behind with a wild sucker punch.
Referee Dan Miragliotta quickly separated the two men, and uttered the same phrase that most fans were thinking: "are you kidding me!?"
Unsurprisingly, 'Semtex' was instantly released from his contract for this dirty move, with Dana White vowing that he'd never enter the octagon again. Over a decade later, the UFC CEO has not broken that vow.
