Igor Severino's UFC career lasted about one and a half rounds.
The 20-year-old flyweight made his debut with the promotion on Saturday at UFC Vegas 89, losing to Andre Lima via disqualification. Reason: biting.
While wrestling in the second round, Severino sunk his teeth into Lima's upper left arm for seemingly no reason. Lima immediately started screaming and motioned for referee Chris Tognoni to stop the fight, which he did after a few seconds.
The fight was called shortly after Tognoni examined Lima's arm and conferred with the judges. A few hours later, UFC President Dana White said Kevin Iole of keviniole.com The promotion would cut Severino, who may also hear from the Nevada State Athletic Commission:
“These were two undefeated up-and-coming fighters,” White said. “If you get frustrated and want to get out of the fight, there are a lot of ways to do that, but the worst thing you can do is bite your opponent. Now, you'll get hurt and lose the biggest opportunity of your life. Not to mention he'll have real problems with the National Security Council.”
The ESPN winger was initially confused by Severino not receiving a warning rather than an immediate disqualification, as they wanted to know how Tognoni could be so certain that the 20-year-old had bitten intentionally. A shot of Lima's arm, complete with one of the most obvious bite marks you'll ever see, ended the confusion.
The loss is the first of Severino's professional mixed martial arts career, and comes directly after his breakout into the UFC via “Dana White's Contender Series.” Before that, all of his fights had come in his native Brazil, most recently with the Jungle Fight Championship.
Severino had a hot start before the sting, outscoring Lima 36-30 on important hits and landing five of nine with three full minutes of control.
The fight was also Lima's UFC debut, where he also picked up a DWCS win in October. He celebrated it like any other win, jumping into his coach's arm before speaking with ESPN:
“I was able to hit him hard, but he bit me when I was trying to finish him off. I was going to keep hurting him, keep touching him and end the fight, but as you saw, that's what it was for.” Shouted. “He bit me.”
This bite ended up being profitable for Lima, as his business manager said Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting White said he would give Lima his first ever “I've Got a F***ing Bit Bonus.”
It seems that Lima decided to honor the occasion with a tattoo:
You really never know where you're going to go tonight in the UFC.
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