Victor Henry will be returning home with all parts accounted for and in working order. The bantamweight updated fans on his condition in the aftermath of one of the unpleasant occurrences at UFC 294 on Saturday.
Doctors told Victor Henry that after receiving a fight-ending kick to the groin in his prelim bout with Javid Basharat, he is expected to make a full recovery.
Victor Henry took to his Instagram Story to divulge the details. “A little update for you guys, 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,” he said.
Henry stopped short of objecting to the no-contest ruling or suggesting Basharat intended to break the rules. “For those of you calling for a DQ 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 happen to hit an illegal spot. Totally not his fault, but that’s MMA,” he wrote concluding his initial statement.
Related: Half Baked Thoughts on UFC 294, including wild referee mishaps
Malpractice?
After Basharat landed what was supposed to be an inside leg kick early in the second round, Henry immediately fell to the cage floor writhing in pain. When the cage side doctor came to check on Henry, he opted to argue with the fighter about where the kick landed, creating one of the sport’s more bizarre sequences in recent memory.
Henry was carried out of the Octagon by his team and vomited backstage before being treated at a local hospital for his injuries.
Henry very clearly drew the line between the physician who attended to him in the Octagon and those who examined him later. “The doctors at the hospital…. Not the doctor in the cage obviously. Although the backstage doc caught a good gander at my Satsumas,” he wrote in the follow-up IG story.
Javid Basharat vs Team Victor Henry
Basharat, who intends to appeal the no-contest, challenged Henry’s coach, Josh Barnett, when the former UFC heavyweight champion shared some of the gritty details of the hospital visit on X. “Honestly I respect you and you’re a legend of the sport but you, me and Victor Henry knew that he quit,” Basharat tweeted before saying the kick “was clearly a legal blow” following repeated viewing.
Barnett fired back by inviting Basharat to “give his testicles a nice look” and questioning the notion that Henry quit.
No official word has been given about an appeal from Basharat. Because UFC 294 took place in Abu Dhabi, the promotion acted as its own sanctioning body which could complicate any sort of appellate process.
Also Read: Charles Oliveira Outlines What’s Next After UFC 294 Removal, Including Fight With Conor McGregor
