UFC Vegas 89 might not have been the most entertaining fight card, but it contained one of the most unique results in recent memory.
Undefeated Brazilian prospects Andre Lima and Igor Severino went to war in the second fight of the night and looked to secure a ‘fight of the night’ bonus before the bout abruptly ended.
Severino, rallying from a tough first round, was en route to winning the second before his opponent exclaimed to referee Chris Tognoni that he had been bitten. The fight was quickly halted as Tognoni investigated the matter further — much to the bemusement of the broadcast team who hadn’t seen any evidence.
Shocker! The fight is called off and Severino is disqualified, the broadcast team are up in arms… before an in-cage camera shows a shocking bite wound on the underarm of Lima.
Andre Lima Gets Bite Tattooed, Dana White Awards $50K
In a post to social media directly after the fight, Lima celebrated his unconventional debut by having the teeth marks tattooed, alongside the words ‘I got f****** bit bonus’.
“It was so insane I had to make it permanent,” Lima wrote on Instagram. “A debut to remember!”
This caught the attention of UFC CEO Dana White, who responded to the post by upping Lima’s ‘bite of the night‘ bonus from $25K to $50K. “I was going to give him $25K,” White wrote in a post. “Now I’m giving him $50K. This is awesome.”
Not only does Severino become the first fighter in UFC history to lose by DQ (biting), Lima becomes the first to receive a ‘bite of the night’ bonus, proving there is a silver lining to the egregious foul.
As for repercussions, it has been confirmed by reporter Kevin Iole that Severino was cut from the UFC for the incident. A statement from White read, “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.”
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