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Pain pays in UFC, but Andre Lima’s wild fight against Igor Severino earned him a “bite bonus” from Dana White.
Yes, the bonus is exactly what you think it is: Lima was bitten by Severino, who was making his UFC debut in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
A doctor from the Nevada State Athletic Commission examined the inside of Lima’s biceps, where it was determined that Severino had bitten him. The bite mark was so clear that it was caught on camera.
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Andre Lima of Brazil shows a bite mark on his arm after his flyweight fight against Igor Severino of Brazil during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 23, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Severino was disqualified for biting Lima in the second round. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The fight was immediately waved off, as biting is not allowed under any circumstances during a fight.
Later that night, White posted to his Instagram Stories a screenshot of Lima’s Story, which showed that the fighter had immediately gotten a tattoo of the bite mark on his arm. It had a quote around the mark that read, “I got f—ing bit bonus.”
UFC BOUT STOPPED AFTER FIGHTER BITES OPPONENT: ‘I FELT THE PAIN’
White captioned the post saying, “I was going to give him 25K. Now I’m giving him 50k. This is AWESOME!”
White also confirmed that Severino, who had never lost in his career, was released from UFC after biting Lima.
“Those were two up-and-coming undefeated fighters,” White told ESPN. “If you get frustrated and want out of the fight, there are plenty of ways to do it, but the worst thing u 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.”
Igor Severino of Brazil reacts after his disqualification against Andre Lima of Brazil in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 23, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Lima spoke about the bite incident after the fight.
“We were exchanging really well at that point, then he tried to take me down,” Lima told reporters, via MMA Junkie. “I went down, but I got up, and as I was getting up, I yelled because I felt pain, very sharp pain. I really thought that the fence had gotten into me. That’s what I thought happened.”I started yelling, ‘Ow, ow, ow,’ and they started looking at me,” he continued. “I was like, I don’t know what’s happening here. I really thought it was the fence, because there was absolutely no way he would have bit me, especially with the way the fight was going. It was back and forth, it was good for him, it was good for me, it had a lot of potential to be the ‘Fight of the Night.’ So that’s when I started yelling. I felt the pain and then later realized he bit me.”
Andre Lima of Brazil poses for a portrait after his victory during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 23, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Lima improved to 8-0 in his fighting career, with five of his wins coming via knockout.
Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
