(Reuters) – Flyweight Igor Severino made his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut in Las Vegas, Nevada and was disqualified after biting opponent Andre Lima during their Fight Night bout.
The incident occurred in the second round of the fight between the two Brazilian fighters, when Lima yelled for the referee to intervene. He then showed officials the bite mark on his left arm, leading to Severino’s disqualification.
After reviewing the footage, UFC President Dana White announced that Severino would be cut from the organization following his unsportsmanlike behavior.
Speaking through a translator, Lima expressed his shock at the sudden bite, saying, “We were fighting well, and then at some point, for some reason, he decided to bite me.”
He described the moment of realization, stating, “I went down, and as I was getting up, I yelled because I felt sharp pain. I thought it was the fence at first.”
Later, Lima took to Instagram to share a photo of his new tattoo depicting the bite mark, a gesture that earned him a $50,000 bonus promised by White.
Reported by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru and edited by Peter Rutherford.
