Igor Severino's MMA Return: Back to Champions' Circle
Igor Severino accepts responsibility for the bite that led to his UFC release, but hopes one day he can have a shot at redemption.
Igor Severino is winning. Even more importantly, he's happy. Two years ago, the possibility of both of those things fell into question when Severino (10-1) was booted from the UFC after he bit an opponent.
But Saturday, he won championship gold for OKTAGON, the fastest-growing promotion in Europe. It's a testament not only to his skills, but also his ability to overcome. "I can't say I expected it to go like that," Severino told MMA Junkie on Thursday through a Portuguese-language interpreter.
"Even though I had a great camp and was performing really well, I always put in my head it was going to be a war and five rounds of fighting and I'd have to struggle and all that. I don't let myself get overhyped, but then everything just worked out. Everything went as perfectly as we prepared for.
" Severino, 22, captured the OKTAGON bantamweight title when he put away Khurshed Kakhorov with punches early in Round 2. Khakhorov (13-2) recently went 4-0 in PFL, a stiff test for any opponent. The fight moved Severino to 2-0 since his UFC departure in March 2024.