'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— (@)
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!"
"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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