#UFC’s Igor Severino receives rare disqualification for biting opponent

A flyweight named Igor Severino made his UFC debut Saturday in Las Vegas. He lost in one of the weirdest ways possible.

Severino was disqualified at UFC Vegas 89 for taking a bite out of the back of opponent Andre Lima’s upper arm while grappling in the second round. He was trying to take Lima down from behind with his head against the arm when Lima started yelling and signaling for referee Chris Tognoni to stop the fight.

Tognoni granted a timeout after a few seconds, and called the fight after seeing Lima’s arm and consulting with the judges.

The ESPN booth was initially confused why Severino didn’t receive a warning rather than immediate disqualification, wanting to know how Tognoni could be so sure the 20-year-old intentionally bit down. A shot of Lima’s arm, complete with one of the most clear bite marks you will ever see, ended that confusion.

The loss is the first of Severino’s professional MMA career. It’s also an inauspicious beginning to his UFC career, as he joined the promotion 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 spoiled a strong start with the bite, as he had outlanded Lima 36-30 in significant strikes and landed five out of nine takedowns with three total minutes of control.

The fight was also Lima’s UFC debut, as he also notched a win on DWCS in October. He celebrated it like any other win, jumping into his coach’s arm before speaking with ESPN:

That bite wound up being lucrative for Lima, as his manager told MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz that UFC president Dana White said he will award Lima the first ever “I Got F***ing Bit Bonus.”