Igor Severino’s fate won’t be decided until May.
The Brazilian flyweight, who was disqualified and later released from the UFC for biting opponent Andre Lima during a card in March, faces a full disciplinary hearing or possibly a new adjudication agreement after the Nevada Commission denied a recommended six-month suspension as penalty.
During a scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Nevada Deputy Attorney General Matthew Feeley presented an agreed upon adjudication agreement where Severino would face a six-month suspension along with a $3,000 fine — representing 30 percent of his $10,000 purse — and prosecution fees for his actions.
Feeley explained that there was no prior precedent set for an incident of this nature because it hasn’t really happened since the infamous moment when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield in their fight all the way back in 1997.
It was noted that Tyson’s behavior was considerably worse, which is why he had his license revoked for over a year and he faced $3 million in fines.
Despite the recommended adjudication agreement, the commission ultimately decided the penalty wasn’t stiff enough because suspending Severino for six months sets a standard for future altercations if this happens again in Nevada.
“The bigger issue is the precedent we set going forward if this happens again, you’re stuck at six months,” commissioner Anthony Marnell said during the hearing. “That is unbelievably dangerous for this commission. That’s my opinion.”
Severino wasn’t present during the meeting so he was unable to give a statement to the commission about the incident.
The commissioners noted that Severino was released from the UFC for his actions but he could still be signed by any other promotion and the six-month suspension really didn’t appeal to them as adequate punishment.
As a result, Severino now faces a second disciplinary hearing in May before the Nevada Commission or the attorney general’s office will work with the fighter on a different adjudication agreement that could be presented next month. One commissioner recommended at least a one-year suspension for the altercation but that was tabled until a full hearing could be held in May.
For now, Severino remains on temporary suspension from the commission, and he won’t find out what kind of penalty he faces until the next meeting in May.