Javid Basharat believes he won his UFC 294 prelim bout by TKO and plans to appeal the no-contest declared after Victor Henry was unable to continue, but his claims are being disputed by Henry’s coach Josh Barnett.
Javid Basharat took to Instagram to express his belief that he won his UFC 294 prelim bout by TKO and plans to appeal the no-contest declared after Victor Henry was unable to continue. Basharat confidently stated, “I won by TKO today 100 percent,” and expressed his intention to appeal the decision as soon as possible. He referred to himself as the “boogeyman of this division” and accused Henry of faking a low blow to avoid continuing the fight. However, Henry’s coach, former UFC heavyweight champ Josh Barnett, fired back with a fiery response on X.
Barnett informed everyone that Henry had been taken to the hospital for an ultrasound on his swollen groin. Basharat responded to Barnett’s comment and reiterated his opinion that his kick was legal, claiming that there was no contact made and that Henry quit. Basharat even posted pictures and a video of the strike as evidence. However, Barnett challenged Basharat to rewatch the footage and insisted that there was clear groin contact.
The exchange escalated as Barnett called out Basharat’s coach, Dewey Cooper, to back up his claims. Basharat remained firm in his position, expressing disbelief at Barnett’s accusations. The dispute continued, with both sides challenging each other’s perceptions of the fight. The article concludes by stating that Basharat’s options for appealing the contest are uncertain since UFC 294 was self-regulated by the promotion, leaving no known mechanism to overturn the official results. This no-contest result interrupted Basharat’s three-fight winning streak in the UFC, while Henry was deprived of a consecutive victory following his previous win over Tony Gravely.