UFC fighter Igor Severino was disqualified from his fight on Saturday night after biting his opponent, Andre Lima. In the second round of their flyweight bout in Las Vegas, Lima was being held from behind by Severino before the 20-year-old appeared to lean in and bite Lima on his left arm.
Lima let out an audible shout before referee Chris Tognoni stopped the fight and announced that Severino had been disqualified from the fight, awarding the win to Lima. Lima posed for photos after his victory, with a bite mark visible on his left arm. According to martial arts journalist Kevin Iole, UFC president Dana White said in a text message that Severino had been released from the organization following the disqualification.
“Those were two up-and-coming undefeated fighters,” White said, according to Iole. “If you get frustrated and want out of the fight, there are plenty of ways to do it, but the worst thing you can do is bite your opponent. “Now you get cut and lose the biggest opportunity of your life. Not to mention, he’s going to have real problems with the NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission).”
Lima didn’t appear too bothered by the incident though, posting on Instagram in the hours after his fight that he had got a tattoo of the bite to commemorate it. The tattoo is in the same location as the original bite and appears to recreate the bitemarks left on his arm from Severino.
White appeared impressed by Lima’s tattoo, posting on his Instagram story that he would double the Brazilian’s fight bonus to $50,000, saying: “This is AWESOME.” The UFC’s own social media accounts humorously commemorated the moment, coining Lima’s fight the “bite of the night,” a play on their more traditional “fight of the night” accolade.
“I was able to hit him really hard, but then he bit me when I was trying to take him down. That’s why I yelled,” Lima said in the octagon after his fight. It was an unconventional way for Lima to earn his first UFC victory as he was making his debut in the competition on Saturday .He remains undefeated in his MMA career, while the disqualification is Severino’s first defeat.