Combat sports have no shortage of gruesome moments, but some of them stick with you longer than others. During UFC 294 on Saturday, Victor Henry took a groin kick from Javid Basharat that won’t soon be forgotten.
The undercard bantamweight bout in Abu Dhabi was expected to be an exciting matchup of rising contenders and came to a halt shortly after the second round started. Basharat threw Henry to the canvas with an inside leg kick that appeared to strike across his groin.
Henry couldn’t get up in five minutes and the fight was called a no contest.
Henry’s audible groans made it clear the low blow was bad, and those moans only got louder when the doctor came into the cage to evaluate him. But somehow, the medical professional had a different perspective of events.
“No, it wasn’t your balls. He didn’t kick your balls,” the doctor told Henry.
“It’s all d*** and balls!” Henry said as he rolled over in pain.
While the doctor attempted to gaslight Henry, referee Lukasz Bosacki eventually intervened to stop the fight. Basharat apologized to Henry for the accidental low blow. The two shook hands, and Basharat seemingly attempted to pull his opponent up to stand. Henry was instead carried out of the Octagon by former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett, who was his sole coach and cornerman for the fight.
Based on replays, it’s apparent the groin kick wasn’t intentional. Still, it prompted fighters to take to social media for other reasons.
Aljamain Sterling wrote “Oh man,” in an X post as soon as Henry went down. He quickly followed up with a prediction:
Cue all the “he’s acting” posts now. I can feel the casual urge boiling
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) October 21, 2023
Nicolas Dalby followed that train of thought, arguing that no fighter would fake a reaction like Henry’s.
Nobody reacts like that if it’s not a groin shot. Intentional or not. #UFC294
— Nicolas “Danish Dynamite” Dalby (@DalbyMMA) October 21, 2023
The doctor also faced some criticism, understandably.
How you gonna tell the dude who got kicked in the nuts that he didn’t get kicked in the nuts ?
Someone should slap that dr
— Fremd (@joshfremd) October 21, 2023
No more below the waist leg kicks for the rest of the card just to be safe
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) October 21, 2023
The main card features three anticipated events, including a rematch between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski. Hopefully, none of those matchups will see a similar finish.
