Victor Henry

Background

Growing up in a diverse but mostly black community as an individual, Henry always stood out. His mother's emphasis on staying out of trouble led him to school commitments and athletics. Despite a brief stint with baseball and soccer, it was a newspaper article about a nearby taekwondo gym that caught his mother's attention. Martial arts soon became a way for Henry to channel his energy and focus. He earned his black belt and then ventured into jiu-jitsu, with dreams of becoming a personal or medical trainer for professional sports teams. However, as he delved deeper into martial arts, he discovered a passion for MMA. Under the guidance of trainer Jimmie Romero, Henry's skills flourished, and he realized he had the potential to become a fighter. It was through Romero that he met his future mentor and supporter, Josh Barnett, during a seminar. Henry's eagerness to learn and improve his wrestling skills caught Barnett's attention, solidifying a partnership that would become a turning point in his journey as a fighter. Henry trained at Combat Submission Wrestling in Fullerton, where he honed his skills.

Catch wrestling Besides MMA, he has also competed in catch wrestling. Henry won his weight class and the openweight division at the 2018 Billy Robinson Invitational. Henry won his weight class and the openweight division at the 2021 King of Catch tournament.

July 2014 brought a redemption moment in Tokyo, Japan, where they earned a TKO victory over Hideo Tokoro at Grandslam MMA: Way of the Cage, getting Henry back on the winning track.

Pancrase With a quick return to America, Henry became the CS Bantamweight Champion in Tacoma, Washington, with a armbar win over Cory Vom Baur at CageSport 32. Returning to Japan, Henry's ascension continued in 2015, with victories over Masakatsu Ueda via kneebar submission victory at Grandslam MMA 2 and Taichi Nakajima, in his Pancrase debut at Pancrase 267 on May 31, 2015 via split decision, and Hidekazu Fukushima at Pancrase 270 via guillotine choke.

However, the road to success faced a setback, losing to Shintaro Ishiwatari in a unanimous decision at Pancrase 273 in Tokyo, Japan, for the Bantamweight King of Pancrase title. In the following years, the fighter's journey included a mixture of wins and losses, with unanimous decision win over Alan Yoshihiro Yamaniha at Pancrase 277 followed by split decision loss to Rafael Silva at Pancrase 282 and unanimous decision loss against Masakatsu Ueda at Pancrase 285.

In February 2018, the fighter made a successful return by achieving a TKO victory over future UFC fighter Anderson dos Santos at KOTC: Energetic Pursuit. Henry continued his winning streak in August 2018, finishing Takafumi Otsuka via body kick knockout at Deep: 85 Impact.

Henry returned to America to secure a split decision win against Kyler Phillips at CXF 15: Rage in the Cage before traveling to Russia to defeat Denis Lavrentyev via unanimous decision at RCC 5.

Rizin Fighting Federation In March 2019, the fighter claimed the DEEP Bantamweight Championship with a majority decision victory over Yuki Motoya at DEEP 88 Impact, claiming his first major title in Japan. After a brief stopover in Russia to finish Nikita Chistyakov via TKO stoppage at the end of the first round at RCC 6, Henry debuted in Rizin Fighting Federation with a reverse triangle armbar submission victory against Trent Girdham at Rizin 18 in Nagoya, Japan.

In his sophomore performance, Henry gained a TKO win via punches over Masanori Kanehara at Rizin 21 in Hamamatsu, Japan.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, Henry could not enter Japan and therefore was forced to take bouts outside of the country, with this decision resulting in a setback as he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Denis Lavrentyev at Parus FC in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in a match for the Parus FC Bantamweight Championship.

However, the fighter made a strong comeback in October 2021, securing a submission victory with a rear-naked choke against Albert Morales at LXF 6 with this win earning him the LOXP Bantamweight Championship.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Henry was signed to UFC as a replacement for Trevin Jones against Raoni Barcelos on December 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 199. The pairing was then cancelled just hours before taking place due to COVID-19 protocols, and rescheduled to meet on January 22, 2022, at UFC 270. Henry won the fight via unanimous decision.

Henry took on Raphael Assunção at UFC Fight Night 212 on October 15, 2022, losing the fight via unanimous decision.

Henry squared off against Tony Gravely on March 11, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 221. He won the fight via split decision.

Henry was scheduled to face Javid Basharat on September 23, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 228. However, Henry withdrew for unknown reasons and the bout was rescheduled for UFC 294 on October 21, 2023. The fight ended in no-contest after an unintentional groin kick by Basharat rendered Henry unable to continue.

Henry faced Rani Yahya on April 27, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 55. After landing two knockdowns, Henry won the bout by technical knockout in the third round.

Henry faced Charles Jourdain on November 2, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 246. He lost the fight via a guillotine choke submission in the second round, which was Henry's first career loss by finish.

Henry faced Pedro Falcão on April 5, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 65. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Henry was scheduled to face Bryce Mitchell on June 6, 2026, at UFC Fight Night 278. In turn, Henry pulled out on May 28 and was replaced by Santiago Luna.

Championships and accomplishments

Catch wrestling

The Snake Pit 2018 Catch Wrestling World Championships - runner-up, lightweight (68 kg)

DEEP DEEP Bantamweight Championship (One time) Lights Out Xtreme Fighting LOXF Bantamweight Championship (One time) CageSport CS Bantamweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record Win

Pedro Falcão Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Emmett vs. Murphy

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Charles Jourdain Submission (guillotine choke) UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win

Rani Yahya TKO (head kick and punches) UFC on ESPN: Nicolau vs. Perez

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States NC

Javid Basharat NC (accidental groin kick) UFC 294

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Win

Tony Gravely Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Raphael Assunção Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Araújo

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Raoni Barcelos Decision (unanimous) UFC 270

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Albert Morales Submission (rear-naked choke) Lights Out Xtreme Fighting 6

Burbank, California, United States Loss

Denis Lavrentyev Decision (unanimous) Modern Fighting Pankration: Parus FC

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Win

Masanori Kanehara TKO (punches) Rizin 21

Hamamatsu, Japan Win

Trent Girdham Submission (reverse triangle armbar) Rizin 18

Nagoya, Japan Win

Nikita Chistyakov TKO (punches) RCC 6

Chelyabinsk, Russia Win

Yuki Motoya Decision (majority) DEEP 88 Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Denis Lavrentyev Decision (unanimous) RCC 5

Ekaterinburg, Russia Win

Kyler Phillips Decision (split) California Xtreme Fighting 15

Burbank, California, United States Win

Takafumi Otsuka KO (body kick) DEEP 85 Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Anderson dos Santos TKO (doctor stoppage) KOTC: Energetic Pursuit

Ontario, California, United States Loss

Masakatsu Ueda Decision (unanimous) Pancrase 285

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Rafael Silva Decision (split) Pancrase 282

Tokyo, Japan Win

Alan Yoshihiro Yamaniha Decision (unanimous) Pancrase 277

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Shintaro Ishiwatari Decision (unanimous) Pancrase 273

Tokyo, Japan Win

Hidekazu Fukushima Submission (guillotine choke) Pancrase 270

Tokyo, Japan Win

Taichi Nakajima Decision (split) Pancrase 267

Tokyo, Japan Win

Masakatsu Ueda Submission (kneebar) Grandslam MMA 2

Tokyo, Japan Win

Cory Vom Baur Submission (armbar) CageSport 32

Tacoma, Washington, United States Win

Hideo Tokoro TKO (punches) Grandslam MMA 1

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Joe Murphy Decision (split) Fight Club OC: Thursday Night Fights 20

Costa Mesa, California, United States Win

Jeff Martin Submission (armbar) BAMMA Badbeat 10

Commerce, California, United States Win

Kevin Michel Decision (unanimous) KOTC: Validation

Highland, California, United States Win

Bronson Casarez Decision (unanimous) Fight Club OC: Rumble on the Range 4

Burbank, California, United States Win

Bobby Sanchez Submission (guillotine choke) Respect in the Cage 16

Pomona, California, United States Win

Gary Mikayelyan TKO (punches) Respect in the Cage 8

Pomona, California, United States Win

Dillion Croushorn Submission (rear-naked choke) Respect in the Cage 7

Pomona, California, United States