Athletes
Javid Basharat Just Wants To Fight
Confident Bantamweight Eager To Get Back To Winning Ways
At the outset of his mixed martial arts career, each time Javid Basharat stepped into the cage to compete, he walked out victorious. Ten straight wins in the regional ranks brought about an opportunity on Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series, where a purposefully drawn-out third-round submission of Oron Kahlon landed him a spot on the UFC roster, and three more wins had him rising through the bantamweight ranks at 14-0.
As he readies to return to action this weekend in Las Vegas against promotional newcomer Gianni Vasquez, the 29-year-old does so having gone three straight appearances without experiencing that familiar victorious feeling. Setbacks and adversity have a way of making most step back and question their long-held ideas about themselves, even if only briefly, because the usual pattern has been interrupted by something unfamiliar, but not Basharat.
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“These types of thoughts would come to mind had I lost those fights,” said Basharat, a tinge of defiance in his voice. “Victor Henry, I did not lose. Was I losing the fight? No. The (Aiemann) Zahabi fight? I thought I won that fight, and I speak to a lot of people, and they think I won that fight too. I’m not gonna say robbery because it’s a good fight, he’s a good fighter. (Ricky) Simon, I got caught fair and square; there are no excuses there.
“I do have a sense of urgency and a sense that everybody else doesn’t care about that,” he added, smirking. “Me and you are going into it in-depth, explaining my case, but you don’t get to explain your case, so now it’s more about me proving to other people. I have to prove it to myself, but I was trying to prove it to myself even off wins.
“As far as 'Am I as good as I think?’ I don’t know about that because I train with the best people in the world. I don’t question it.”
The unflinching uncertainty in his abilities is quite admirable, given that he’s coming off consecutive losses and being knocked out for the first time in his career.
Basharat’s string of appearances without a win began at UFC 294, when an errant kick caught Victor Henry low, rendering the Josh Barnett protégé unable to continue, resulting in a no-contest verdict. He returned just over four months later and dropped a competitive decision to Zahabi, who has since added additional wins over Pedro Munhoz, Jose Aldo, and Marlon “Chito” Vera to his continued run of success, rising to No. 6 in the rankings in the process.
Then came his bout with Simon in Seattle last February, which was going according to plan right up until it wasn’t.
“I remember as soon as it happened, I couldn’t believe it; I was like, ‘There is no way,’” recalled Basharat, who got caught clean with a right hook in the midst of an exchange and knocked out cold. “You’re always at peace with the fact that it can happen, but the way it happened —my last thought in the cage was ‘I can’t believe how easy this is.’ Even though I wasn’t dominating in that fight, I thought I was winning that round and Round 1, I expected it to be a lot harder than it was, especially the first three minutes.
“Everything was going according to the game plan —weather him, we’re gonna be dry, and he’s gonna go for the takedowns; we knew all of this was gonna happen. He’s gonna try to strike and interrupt my strikes, crash in with attacks.
“Simon is a good fighter, but we’ve never seen that from him either,” he added, alluding to the Washington state product not being known as a knockout artist. “For me to say, ‘I expected that to happen,’ that’s not the case. I’ve fought much harder hitters than Simon —my debut was Trevin Jones; he had dynamite in his hands, and he was a lefty — and Simon is not known as a one-punch guy, so it was just something unexpected.
“The way that it happened, I couldn’t believe it.”
The most challenging part for Basharat wasn’t accepting the result or dealing with the aftermath of getting stopped for the first time, but rather the extended wait to get back to action.
He approached the aftermath with due care, adhering to his “no contact” order and following the direction of his coaches. But he bounced back well, experiencing none of the lingering, daunting issues that can accompany a concussion, and was back in the gym, raring to go four months after the late-February tussle, waiting for the phone to ring.
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Summer turned to fall, fall gave way to winter, and Basharat remained disappointingly idle.
“One fight a year isn’t enough,” he said, shaking his head. “As soon as I was cleared, I wanted to fight. They cleared me very quick and I still paid it respect because I was like, ‘What do my coaches say?’ My coaches said, ‘No contact for three months,’ and so I was ready in four.
“The first spar back was a bit weird —‘Am I good? Am I not?’ — and I remember after the first week went and we were a bit cautious, I remember having some gym wars, deliberately, just to mentally (show myself), ‘You’re still good.’
“It goes completely against my style, but I needed to know.”
And now, he’s eager to get back out there, put the previous couple of years behind him, and get back to working forward in the talent-rich bantamweight ranks.
“I’m looking to prove to myself that I am who I think I am, and the reminder to everybody is ‘Where did the doubt come from?’” said Basharat, who was initially scheduled to face veteran Said Nurmagomedov before the Russian ran into visa issues and was replaced by Vasquez. “Everybody can get caught in this sport. After Zahabi has beaten the Aldos and Chitos, I don’t think that was a bad reflection. It’s a result that didn’t age poorly.
“I’ve only fought established people in the UFC; I’ve never had a growing fight in the UFC,” he added. “I’m learning on the job, and it’s all good — I’m very excited to get back in there.”
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