Igor Severino will compete for the vacant Oktagon MMA bantamweight championship Saturday in Cologne, Germany, when he battles PFL Europe champion Khurshed Kakhorov.
The local star missed weight, and isn’t eligible to claim gold if victorious, but Severino doesn’t plan on giving him any chances.
Known in the MMA world as the fighter that bit his opponent Andre Lima in the UFC octagon in March 2024, Severino has been waiting for his shot at Oktagon for quite a while now.
The Chute Boxe athlete beat Jonas
Magard in a back and forth war in his promotional debut to earn the shot, but Jack Cartwright pulled out of the title bout in April due to an injury. Oktagon re-scheduled the match for August, but Cartwright again withdrew. Elvis Silva stepped in for the vacant strap, but also suffered a last-minute health issue.
“I see him as a tough fight,” Severino told MMA Fighting of his latest opponent. “Three fights were cancelled and I always expect tougher opponents to step in. [Kakhorov] won the PFL [Europe] tournament and I see him as a tough fight, as a great opportunity for me to show that I can compete and beat guys of that caliber. I’m at the highest level of the game.”
Severino was fired from the UFC after biting Lima in 2024, and eventually embraced the moniker with the “Hannibal” nickname. He’s not proud of what he’s done in the octagon that night, but doesn’t think it will prevent him from earning big opportunities going forward in his career.
“We’re taking a bad situation and spinning it into a positive light,” Severino said, referring to his nickname. “Fans love how I’ve embraced this. I know that [the bite] is something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life, so I’ll try to use that to my advantage.”
Cartwright, his original opponent, is now fighting for PFL. A win over Kakhorov, a PFL veteran, will boost his MMA record to 10-1. Severino is confident that UFC doors will be open one day if he keeps collecting victories and belts around the globe, too.
“Many fighters have done bad things in the UFC, even worse than that,” Severino said. “I don’t it was that bad, even. It happened, and that’s life. I don’t know what [Dana White] thinks about that, but I do think [I can go back one day]. I think he has forgiven worse things before.”
Severino will enter the cage “ready for five rounds”. That said, he hopes to get the job done early.
“I have championship mindset,” Severino said. “I don’t like to underestimate my opponents and I enter any fight as if I’m going to a war, and this is no different. If it ends early, great. But I’m going there ready for five rounds, and be sure that I’m coming out with the belt.
“He’s a striker, and I can fight on the feet, but I have other weapons. All he does is strike, and he only has one path to victory, and I have many. He’s inactive for a long time, and I’m one step ahead of him in all areas.”
