Andre Lima’s UFC debut will go down as one of the most memorable and bizarre moments in company history, but he wants to leave it in the rear-view mirror.
In March, Igor Severino was infamously disqualified for biting Lima in the second round of their UFC Vegas 89 bout. Lima decided to tattoo the bite mark and the words “I Got F*cking Bit Bonus” on himself hours later, celebrating the $25,000 check awarded to him by UFC CEO Dana White for the incident. White then doubled that after the tattoo was inked the same night in Las Vegas, awarding Lima with $50,000 atop his show and win money.
The bite went viral and was the topic of the week, and Lima was smart enough to make the most of it. “Mascote” said he was recognized all week by fans in Las Vegas and became popular in his hometown Guarulhos. Now, though, he wants to be more than just a meme.
“I’m very active online and decided to keep posting about it for a few days,” Lima told MMA Fighting ahead of his UFC 302 fight with Mitch Raposo. “Some videos I did hit 200,000, 300,000 views on Instagram, one hit 1,000,000 views. UFC life is great, man. The tattoo and the bite changed my life. That’s also why I’m on a pay-per-view card, I think. That and my fighting potential.
“Dana White liked my performance on the Contender Series even though I didn’t get the knockout. The fight in the UFC was good up until that point [of the foul], and the bite made it go viral. But I’m not in the UFC because of a bite or a tattoo. I’m here because I have heavy hands, I’m a good striker, and I will show my potential. This is the perfect opportunity for me to show what I’ve been doing my whole life.”
Lima was originally slated to face Hyun Sung Park on June 1. Nyamjargal Tumendemberelm then briefly stepped in as a replacement before the spot ultimately landed with Raposo, who held flyweight titles on the regional circuit before answering the call to make his UFC debut on short notice.
Lima likes the matchup and sees Raposo as having a similar fighting style to his main sparring partner for UFC 302, so the changes had no major impact in his preparation.
“I’m a jiu-jitsu black belt, but people will always try to take me down when I start hitting them on the feet,” Lima said. “I think he will try to grapple with me. I have 82 fights in kickboxing and Muay Thai combined so, I will never chose to do jiu-jitsu in MMA. I’ve proven that in Brazil already. My goal is always to stand and trade. I have some of the best hands in the division, if not the best, and I believe in them.”
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