Victor Henry’s bout against Javid Basharat at UFC 294 ended in about the worst way possible this past weekend (Oct. 21, 2023).
Midway through the card in Abu Dhabi, fans were treated to a surefire thriller between exciting Bantamweight hopefuls, Henry, and the undefeated Basharat. The pair were originally supposed to collide at UFC Vegas 79 last month (Sept. 23, 2023) until Henry was forced to withdraw. Unfortunately, a leg kick from Basharat went a little too high to start round two at UFC 294, crippling Henry and rendering the fight a no-contest after a wonky conversation with the cage side doctor.
A lot of buzz was generated through social media, suggesting that Henry was faking the strike after the doctor told him it didn’t land to the groin.
“A little update for you guys,” Henry said in a post shared by his head coach and manager, Josh Barnett. “Doctors said no permanent damage to my pills, but I’m gonna walk a little funny for a couple days. Swelling has gone down a significant amount after sleeping with ice on my smooth criminals, which isn’t very easy to do.
“For those of you calling for a DQ (disqualification), don’t be ridiculous. I don’t think my opponent had ill intentions to kick my nuts. He threw a legal strike that just so happened to hit an illegal spot. Totally not his fault, but that’s MMA.”
The result leaves Basharat’s undefeated record intact at 14-0, while Henry continues to seek a winning streak inside the Octagon as he’s currently 2-1 (23-6, 1 no contest overall).
For complete UFC 294 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.