Severino 'regretful' about bite in UFC bout: 'That's not who I am'

Igor Severino, the 20-year-old flyweight released by the UFC after biting his opponent in a fight last weekend, apologized Friday for his actions.

Severino was disqualified in the second round of his Octagon debut against Andre Lima at a UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas. Severino bit Lima's left arm, leaving a visible mark.

UFC CEO Dana White said after the incident that Severino, who's from Brazil, would be cut.

"There was nothing that could justify me biting," Severino told MMA Junkie's Nolan King through an interpreter.

Severino said he doesn't remember biting Lima and is unsure why he would do that. Severino said he believes a strike earlier in the fight may have affected his memory and put him on "autopilot."

"To see all of this go away and in the way it did, it's something that is not part of me," Severino said. "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."

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) withheld Severino's fight purse, pending a disciplinary hearing. White also awarded Lima a $50,000 "bite" bonus.

Severino said his family has received threatening messages online in the wake of the incident, and he hopes the UFC - and MMA promotions in general - will give him a second shot.

"I don't want to be defined as a 20-year-old kid who bit a guy in the cage and was banned from the sport, and that was it," Severino said.

"I know things look pretty bad for me right now, and I just want people to see the person that I am, to see that's not who I am as a fighter or as a person," he added. "Please just let me have a career again. ... Please give me a chance to come back and redeem myself."