A leading MMA surgeon has raised concerns after UFC star Andre Lima got a tattoo on the bite mark he received from his opponent Igor Severino.
In an unusual event, Severino — during the promotional debut of both at UFC Vegas 89 — bit Lima, disregarding the rules.
When the unprofessional move occurred, the referee immediately disqualified Severino and UFC CEO Dana White moments later announced firing him.
The professional fighter also received a $50,000 bonus from the UFC president.
To commemorate his disqualification win, Lima decided to get a tattoo right on the spot where he was bitten. But MMA surgeon Dr David Abbasi said he was worried about the MMA star’s health.
“Although this sounds cool in principal, it actually could be a major problem because human bites can have a high risk of infection,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“You get a staph infection, strep infection, eilenella… there’s like hundreds of millions of bacteria in a human mouth. Look at this [tattoo], directly into the bite mark itself. Hopefully this guy doesn’t end up getting an infection.”
In a text message to Kevin iole, White had confirmed that he was firing Severino.
“Those were two up-and-coming undefeated fighters. 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. Not to mention, he’s going to have real problems with the NSAC.”
