An MMA Thanksgiving: 2024 All-Turkey Team

‘Tis that time of year again, folks. While most Americans are sitting around shoveling turkey, dressing, various casseroles, candied yams and mashed potatoes into their faces before mellowing out to a tryptophan overdose, the staff at Sherdog.com has compiled its All-Turkey Team for 2024. In the past, mixed martial arts has provided us with quite a few questionable characters, and this year has been no exception. The latest group of offenders—or members—delivered what might have been the most eclectic rap sheet yet …

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Igor da Silva

It’s safe to say Igor da Silva left his mark on the mixed martial arts world in 2024—just not in the way he would have liked.

Da Silva, more commonly known as Igor Severino, earned an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract as a 20-year-old flyweight prospect on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2023. The undefeated Brazilian was then matched against countryman Andre Lima in a UFC on ESPN 53 prelim on March 23. Such a booking would normally have been little more than a blip on the radar in the UFC machine, but da Silva’s act of desperation a little more than halfway through the second round will live on in infamy.

The contest started off in promising fashion, as both combatants had their moments in an action-packed opening stanza. In the interest of fairness, it was Lima who was warned for multiple transgressions—fence grabs and illegal strikes to the back of the head—in the first five minutes. However, those would pale in comparison to what transpired in Round 2, where da Silva decided to bite Lima on the arm while working for a takedown near the fence. Once referee Chris Tognoni figured out what had happened, the bout was immediately declared a disqualification at the 2:52 mark of the period.

Losing a fight is one thing, but da Silva would suffer more severe consequences for his ill-conceived actions.

“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,” UFC CEO Dana White said afterward. “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.”

Meanwhile, Lima reaped the benefits. Not only did he keep his undefeated professional mark intact, but he was awarded a $50,000 “Bite of the Night” bonus for his troubles. Lima was not especially traumatized by the incident, as evidenced by the commemorative tattoo he got on his arm where the bite occurred.

The only true combat sports precedent for da Silva’s biting disqualification came in boxing, when Mike Tyson took a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their June 1997 rematch. Tyson faced harsh sanctions for his foul, as he had his boxing license revoked—it was reinstated upon appeal—and fined a hefty $3 million. In the UFC, it was the first disqualification of its kind.

Ultimately, da Silva received a nine-month suspension and $2,000 fine from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, in addition to losing his UFC contract. The Brazilian, who turned 21 in April, will be eligible to return to active competition on Dec. 23. Exactly where that will be remains to be seen.

Da Silva, who claimed he was flooded with hateful comments and threats via social media after the incident, recalled going into “autopilot mode” before the fateful moment. Given his age and potential, it seems likely that the Brazilian won’t have too much difficulty finding work. In his own redemption story, that ultimately ends in the UFC Octagon.

“I’ve always done things the right way in my life, always working hard. I left my family as a teenager and spent two years without seeing my parents and my brother, working toward my dream, and managed to get to the Contender [Series] and the UFC. That was a dream come true, and now it’s gone like this. That hurts me inside. I could have a long future in the organization, but I’ll own my mistakes and try to come back,” Severino told MMAFighting.com about a week after the fight. “I hope it’s not a long suspension. I want to come back [to the UFC]. I still have a lot to show. I still have a lot to evolve, so my second chance is for redemption. I want my redemption to show MMA fans, UFC fans. I dream with my return to the UFC so I can build a career and fix this s--- I’ve made.”

No matter what the future holds, da Silva is likely to carry the incident with him for the rest of his career. Much like the tattoo on his opponent’s underarm, da Silva’s first—and potentially only—UFC foray will be indelibly etched in MMA lore.

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