ANAHEIM, Calif. – Victor Henry has no time to waste.
The UFC newcomer won his promotional debut Saturday with a unanimous decision win over Raoni Barcelos at UFC 270. Henry (22-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) beat Barcelos (16-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) with three 30-27 scores.
It was a tough debut for Henry given Barcelos’ tenure in the UFC. But Henry didn’t want it any other way, and the 34-year-old is looking to quickly get tested in the UFC.
“I’m not the youngest guy,” Henry said. “I have a hard road to run. I’m not here to take the easiest fights. I wanted this fight. (The UFC) were telling me his visa is coming up and he might not be able to fight later on. I was really upset the first time it got canceled. I wanted to fight him.
“It’s not just I wanted to fight in the UFC. I wanted to fight him. … He’s arguably top 15, top 10, so I wanted to fight him and prove that to everybody.”
Although it was Henry’s first UFC fight, the Josh Barnett protege has plenty of experience with almost 30 professional fights under his belt. Henry is 9-1 in his past 10 trips to the cage.
“La Mangosta” hopes to get a quick return to the cage and he’s ready to face any test.
“As soon as I’m done crushing this pizza I’m about to have, give me another call and I’ll be in there.”
At 34, newcomer Victor Henry wants quick UFC rise: ‘I’m not here to take the easiest fights’
