Javid Basharat might have won three UFC fights out of three but feels he has only given people a glimpse into his actual abilities. Fans who have seen the Afghan grind his way to three decision wins might not be aware of just how good his striking is.
In an interview with UFC.com he wanted to point out that he actually comes from a striking background,
“I started with Taekwondo. I was really good at that when I was young, but I was just doing it because my parents put me in it for self-defense and (because) I had too much energy as a kid.”
"He’s just very experienced and it’ll be great to test myself against somebody like that."
Javid Basharat is excited to show his level at #UFC294 ➡️: https://t.co/PNKzwLQoek
[@InAbuDhabi | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi]https://t.co/PNKzwLQoek
— UFC News (@UFCNews) October 18, 2023
Best boxer
Basharat believes his striking is much better than people realize and claims to be one of the best boxers in the UFC,
“I actually have a lot better boxing than what people think I do. I feel like I am one of the best boxers in the UFC, but if I say that now, people are going to laugh because I haven’t shown it in my fights, but it’s because I find MMA such a different sport.”
He is taking on former Deep bantamweight champion Victor Henry at UFC 294 this weekend. Basharat’s opponent is well travelled and highly experienced.
It sounds like he is expecting the toughest fight of his UFC tenure and possibly his entire career,
“It’s going to be a great fight. It’s going to be a very technical fight (and) maybe a hard fight.”
Still undefeated!!@JavidBasharat improves to 12-0 in his UFC debut 👏
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— UFC (@ufc) March 12, 2022
New experience
The two men were originally set to face off at UFC Vegas 79 last month but Henry withdrew. It means Basharat has had longer than normal to prepare for the American.
Henry is highly experienced and well travelled. He has spent much of his career competing in Japan for promotions like Deep, Pancrase and Rizin.
Henry registered wins over Hideo Tokoro, Masakatsu Ueda and Yuki Motoya while fighting in Japan. By contrast Basharat has never fought in Asia before despite being born in Afghanistan.
The American fighter might be more familiar to Asian fans than he is. But Basharat warns Henry that he will be in for a totally new experience at the Etihad Arena this weekend,
“He’s just very experienced and it’ll be great to test myself against somebody like that, but also, he’s never fought anybody like me. No matter how many people he’s fought.”
