Athletes
Victor Henry | Ready For The Next Step
Bantamweight Victor Henry Rides Momentum From April Knockout Into UFC Edmonton Clash Against Charles Jourdain
In April, UFC bantamweight Victor Henry collected his first knockout victory since signing with the promotion in 2022, stopping Rani Yahya midway through the third round.
Looking back at that night, Henry credits most of his success to his execution of his team’s game plan, curated by former UFC heavyweight turned coach Josh Barnett. The two have built a bond that Henry describes as “being under the wing of a dragon.”
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“There’s expectations out of me, especially when other people see me train with Josh,” Henry said. “Josh has been in this for so long. He’s a PRIDE veteran, of course fought in the UFC…for me, it was always, if this guy did this, and he was able to achieve this, then I have to do what he did.”
But as well as Henry performed at UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs Perez, he felt Yahya was a very specialized fighter, primarily in grappling. So, if he could neutralize that one threat, the rest of the fight would be smooth sailing. Now, on the cusp of the bantamweight rankings, Henry knows his level of competition will exponentially increase as he wins more fights, so he needs to be ready for athletes who are elite in every aspect of mixed martial arts.
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“He’s a very specialized fighter,” Henry said. “Fighting a guy like that makes you train certain ways. Moving forward, it’s like okay, I know I can train for the specialized guys, now I need to focus more on the [well-rounded] guys.”
After taking a vacation to Tokyo, Japan, with his partner, he followed Barnett back to Japan to help develop fighters in that region while simultaneously training for his next test: a matchup with Charles Jourdain at UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Albazi this Saturday in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Victor Henry Stops Rani Yahya In Round Three | UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs Perez
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Victor Henry Stops Rani Yahya In Round Three | UFC Fight Night: Nicolau vs Perez
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Henry has coached throughout his mixed martial arts career ever since earning his black belt in Taekwondo at 18 years old. That experience of traveling the world and engaging with athletes from different backgrounds has been invaluable to Henry’s evolution into a complete mixed martial artist.
This fight with Charles Jourdain, while not a test against a ranked opponent, is just the matchup Henry was looking for in terms of a clash of styles. With eight knockout wins, five submission wins and just two wins going the distance, Jourdain can end the fight in many ways.
The intriguing element in this fight is Jourdain moving down to bantamweight from featherweight. While Henry doesn’t see Jourdain as the biggest 135er, he anticipates “Air” using his size to try to be more physical on fight night.
“He’s got a great style,” Henry said. “He’s going to go in there and he’s going to fight. He’s got great conditioning. Generally speaking, the people that have fought me are always like, ‘[I] got to work on my conditioning.’ Charles Jourdain already had that conditioning. What I’m taking away from it is, is he going to have the same conditioning coming down to [135 pounds].
“I’m expecting Charles Jourdain to come out guns blazing, trying to be the bigger person in there, punk me across the cage. If he strikes with me, cool, I’ll put my volume to work, but I can totally see him trying to take me down and just be heavy on me and wear me out physically.”
If a win on Saturday doesn’t earn Henry a place in the rankings, the 37-year-old hopes it secures an opportunity to challenge a Top 15 bantamweight the next time he returns to the Octagon.
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Albazi took place live from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on November 2, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
