- Joined
- Sep 17, 2005
- Messages
- 19,454
- Reaction score
- 17,694
Igor Severino’s life isn’t the same as it was one week ago.
As of now, the 20-year-old ex-UFC fighter doesn’t know if it’ll ever be even similar after he bit opponent Andre Lima during their March 23 fight at UFC on ESPN 53 in Las Vegas.
The highly unusual and flagrant foul disqualified him from the bout, cost him his spot on the UFC roster, and made international headlines far beyond the combat sports bubble.
“It’s been crazy – some crazy days,” Severino told MMA Junkie, through an interpreter, as he spoke on the incident for the first time publicly since it happened. “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’s face appeared all over social media as the video went viral. His accounts were flooded with comments and messages, many of them unpleasant.
Severino remained out of the public eye and ear over the past six days until now, as he processed why and how he did what he did. Severino said he still hasn’t figured it all out, and isn’t sure he ever will.
“I come from humble beginnings,” Severino said. “I’ve been working since a very young age. I left my home as a teenager to come over to train and to get here. Then, to see all of this go away and in the way it did, it’s something that is not part of me. It’s not who I am as a person. That’s not who I am as a fighter. I just feel very regretful. It makes me very emotional and sad about it.
“My dream became a nightmare overnight. I’m very regretful to my opponent. I apologize to (Lima), to Dana (White), to the Nevada Athletic Commission, to Sean Shelby, who spoke to me after the fight, to Mick (Maynard) – everyone in the organization – and the fans. Sorry to everyone who was watching that on TV. They didn’t deserve to see that.”
more https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2024...everino-bite-reaction-vs-andre-lima-interview
As of now, the 20-year-old ex-UFC fighter doesn’t know if it’ll ever be even similar after he bit opponent Andre Lima during their March 23 fight at UFC on ESPN 53 in Las Vegas.
The highly unusual and flagrant foul disqualified him from the bout, cost him his spot on the UFC roster, and made international headlines far beyond the combat sports bubble.
“It’s been crazy – some crazy days,” Severino told MMA Junkie, through an interpreter, as he spoke on the incident for the first time publicly since it happened. “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’s face appeared all over social media as the video went viral. His accounts were flooded with comments and messages, many of them unpleasant.
Severino remained out of the public eye and ear over the past six days until now, as he processed why and how he did what he did. Severino said he still hasn’t figured it all out, and isn’t sure he ever will.
“I come from humble beginnings,” Severino said. “I’ve been working since a very young age. I left my home as a teenager to come over to train and to get here. Then, to see all of this go away and in the way it did, it’s something that is not part of me. It’s not who I am as a person. That’s not who I am as a fighter. I just feel very regretful. It makes me very emotional and sad about it.
“My dream became a nightmare overnight. I’m very regretful to my opponent. I apologize to (Lima), to Dana (White), to the Nevada Athletic Commission, to Sean Shelby, who spoke to me after the fight, to Mick (Maynard) – everyone in the organization – and the fans. Sorry to everyone who was watching that on TV. They didn’t deserve to see that.”
more https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2024...everino-bite-reaction-vs-andre-lima-interview
