'I was on autopilot. I don’t remember anything': Ex-UFC fighter apologizes for biting opponent, asks for shot at redemption



Former UFC fighter Igor Severino apologized for a biting incident that got him fired from the fight promotion and claimed that he didn't remember the sequence of events leading up to it.

Severino bit the bicep of fellow flyweight Andre Lima halfway through the second round of their three-round fight. The bite was widely publicized and even garnered a "Bite of the Night" bonus for Lima on behalf of UFC President Dana White. That bonus was doubled when it was revealed that Lima got a tattoo of the bite mark.

"One day, I was fighting in the best promotion in the world. I was making my dream come true. The next moments, I’m banned from the promotion," Severino told MMA Junkie.

The fighter was fired the same night following the incident, which of course was an extreme juxtaposition to his opponent being celebrated and awarded afterward.

Severino said he comes from "humble beginnings," working from a very young age to become a professional fighter. The 20-year-old Brazilian insisted that what viewers saw was not who he is as a person.

"I just feel very regretful. It makes me very emotional and sad about it," he explained.

The fighter claimed that he has no recollection of the sequence leading up to the bite and said he was shocked to see the highlights of what had transpired. He thought an elbow he received may have triggered his behavior.

"I remember everything that was happening until I got hit with something really hard," Severino stated through a translator. "I watched the video later and I thought it was an elbow. From there, I was on autopilot. I don’t remember anything."

The UFC is CUTTING Igor Severino after biting his opponent tonight at #UFCVegas89 \n\nper @KevinI
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Opponent and bite recipient Lima told Brazilian press that he didn't agree with the UFC's decision to cut Severino from the roster. He also stated that he would be willing to give Severino a rematch.

The likelihood that the UFC reinstates a fighter who has been banned is very low, however.

There exists a fairly lengthy list of fighters who have received lifetime bans. From shoving referees, to illegal gambling, to punching opponents after the fight, most if not all fighters who have received a permanent ban for one reason or another are not reinstated.

In an interview with Brazilian MMA-journalist Laerte Viana, Andre "Mascote" Lima stated that he doesn't agree with the UFC to cut Igor Severino after the biting incident on Saturday. He says that he hopes Severino get's another chance and he is willing to do a rematch.
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"I did something wrong," Severino continued. "It’s right that I be punished. I got cut. I think that’s one of the worst things that could’ve happened. The commission withheld my purse, so I’m not even sure if I’ll get paid anything. I’m not sure what they’re even going to decide because this money isn’t even for me. It’s for my whole family that depends on me. Fighting is how I make ends meet, how I’m able to pay my rent. That’s how I’m able to pay for medicine. It’s how I’m able to take care of my sick family members, how I can support them to buy food, as well. That’s all that I know how to do. It’s all that I have to make a means to live."

The fighter also noted that he received phone calls from family members about the incident, including one from his mother who claimed she had been receiving threats to her life.

50k \ud83d\udcb4
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'I don't like cheaters': UFC fighter Julian Erosa asks Lia Thomas to become a fighter so he can 'beat that dude's a**'

'I don't like cheaters': UFC fighter Julian Erosa asks Lia Thomas to become a fighter so he can 'beat that dude's a**'



UFC fighter Julian Erosa called out infamous swimmer and transgender athlete Lia Thomas, encouraging the college athlete to become a mixed martial arts fighter so the two can fight.

Following a first-round submission victory at UFC Vegas 89, Erosa was asked by a reporter to clarify a "goofy call-out" that the fighter had alluded to. A "call-out" refers to when a fighter names an opponent he would like to fight in the near future, following a victory.

Erosa took the opportunity to challenge transgender athlete Thomas to become a mixed martial arts fighter:

"I was going to say that I don't like cheaters, and I don't know how you guys feel about this whole situation, but I don't like cheaters and so I wanted to callout Lia Thomas," Erosa said in a press conference.

"I wanted to encourage her to or encourage him to transition from women's swimming into women's MMA, and then I'll transition to becoming a woman and I'm going to beat that dude's ass."

Thomas, who is known for identifying as a woman and competing in women's swimming after years of male competition, was not the only transgender athlete whom Erosa named.

"The world that we're living in is just ... you know there's no common sense any more. ... I just don't agree with men in women's sports, you know? Even the whole Fallon Fox thing ... guys that are fighting in women's MMA and knocking them out. It's a bad look."

Fox is a fighter who was born a man but fought six women between 2012 and 2014, winning five fights. In his second fight, he brutally knocked out a woman in 39 seconds. In his final fight, he reportedly broke his opponent's skull.

Julian Erosa planned to call out Lia Thomas during his post-win octagon interview at #UFCVegas89.\n\n"I don't like cheaters. ... I wanted to encourage him to transition from women's swimming into women's MMA, and then I'll transition into become a woman and beat that dude's ass."
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Erosa was asked by the same reporter if there are any instances in which he believes male athletes competing against women would make sense.

"Absolutely not," the fighter immediately replied. "There's nothing you can do, there's nothing you can give yourself to shrink your bones down. There's nothing you can do in that kind of sense, I mean, and the proof's in the pudding," he said regarding Thomas.

According to Essentially Sports, Thomas was ranked 65th in the country in the 500-yard freestyle as a man, only to be ranked first as a woman the following year.

He was also 554th in the men's 200-yard freestyle and fifth as a woman.

"I'm not the smartest crayon in the box, but I could tell you — if I don't know anything about anything — I could still tell you that's unfair."

Erosa closed his statements by alluding to the fact that he believes women's sports will become obsolete if they continue to allow men to compete against them.

"It's so funny to me that that women will fight for their own spaces and then they also fight for transwomen to be in those spaces. Those are just men, there's going to be hundreds of men in these sports, and then it just becomes another man sport."

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'This is awesome!' UFC President Dana White doubles bonus for fighter who was bitten after seeing how he celebrated the win



A UFC fighter was awarded a one-of-a-kind performance bonus after being bitten by an opponent during a fight. Following the bout, UFC President Dana White decided to double that bonus after he saw how the fighter celebrated his victory.

Flyweight fighter Andre Lima remained undefeated after a fellow undefeated fighter, Igor Severino, sullied his record via disqualification for biting Lima on the bicep about halfway through the second round.

"He bit me while I was trying to take him down, as you can see," Lima told the UFC through a translator after the fight.

Lima explained the importance of the victory due in part to the fact that one of his coaches had actually paid his rent throughout his training camp.

"I went down, but I got back up, and as I was getting up I yelled because I felt pain, a very sharp pain, and I really thought that the fence had gotten into me. I thought that’s what happened," Lima said, according to BJPenn.com. "I started yelling, ‘Ouch, ouch, ouch,’ and they started looking at me. I don’t know what’s happening, but I really thought it was the fence because there was absolutely no way that he would bite me, especially because the fight was going back and forth."

Andre Lima picks up the win over Igor Severino due to a DQ from Severino, who bit Lima\u2019s arm \ud83d\ude33 #UFCVegas89
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Severino was fired by the UFC following the fight, while at the same time Lima was awarded $25,000 by the company's president.

As usual, the company promoted its "Fight of the Night" and "Performance of the Night" bonuses on their social media channels.

This was followed by an unexpected award to Lima for the inaugural "Bite of the Night" bonus.

"Tonight's [Bite of the Night]💰💰," the UFC wrote on Instagram.

After learning about his bonus, Lima decided to commemorate the bite mark on his arm and actually had the wound outlined with a tattoo.

"I Got F**king Bit Bonus," Lima's tattoo read. After publicizing his new ink on his social media, White got wind of the tattoo and posted an image of the artwork on his own social media page coupled with an announcement that he was going to double Lima's bite bonus.

"I was going to give him 25k," White wrote on Instagram, per Low Kick MMA. "Now I'm giving him 50k. This is AWESOME!"

50k \ud83d\udcb4
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"Those were two up-and-coming undefeated fighters," White reportedly told writer Kevin 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."

White also noted that the disqualification would cause problems for Severino with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

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