BKFC 15's Quentin Henry: "Fighting is kind of like therapy to me"
Quentin Henry is author of one of the most electrifying knockouts in Bare Knuckle FC history. At BKFC 7, Henry knocked out his opponent in the first round after being knocked down himself. He mounted a come from behind finish and had the best celebration that went absolutely viral on social media. After some ups and downs, Quentin Henry returns to Bare Knuckle for the second time, this time looking for some of his own type of therapy. Henry appeared on The Fight Library Podcast and talked to the host about his struggles during the pandemic, the upcoming fight at BKFC 15 and more.
The shutdown for the pandemic really put Henry's fight plans in 2020 on hold. He was supposed to fight the first half of the year but surgery and global pandemics kept him away.
"I was supposed to fight on that card they had in November in Biloxi. I had to have 21 tumors removed." I had to stop Henry right there and confirm I heard exactly what I thought I heard. "Yeah, but they weren't cancerous, but I had to have them removed," Quentin Henry affirmed. "I recovered from that pretty well but the 'rona hit. I was cleared to fight in January but I couldn't get on the February. Right after that I was supposed to fight in April and that was right after everything went into lockdown."
Like many small businesses, Quentin Henry was hit hard. He had two martial arts schools in Monroe, Louisiana and when the pandemic struck, training stopped and so did a lot of his income. But not to be deterred, Quentin Henry used the empty gyms to his advantage and has bettered himself in this off time.
"I lost 80% of my students over the virus. I still had my gym for training, me and my buddy Josh. He hit me up and was like, 'Hey man, can I come use your gym?' and I'm like, 'Hell yeah, I need somebody to work out with.' We started training together and never stopped. I'm in a whole lot better shape than I was. They sent me the picture today for the poster they're putting out and it was a picture of me from my last fight. I was in the worst shape I've ever been in. I was telling my manager, 'Man, I don't look like that anymore.' I was a firefighter then. I left the fire department then when I opened up my first nutrition shop. Since then, I've grown my hair up and have a beard."
His last fight was at heavyweight. Now, Henry is fighting at his natural weight class and according to his doctor, it's going to make Quentin Henry a lot better.
"Pain started out in my lower back. I get therapy, and in the mornings, I was having to soak in a bath tub just to be able to go about my day. I was telling my therapist that I thought if I lost a little weight, I would start feeling a little better. My shoulder was hurting, my lower back, my upper back, my foot. He was like, 'You know, if you lost 20-25 pounds I think 90% of your problems would go away. I didn't say nothing because I knew you were trying to do the heavyweight thing. This is killing you.'"
Regardless of all that's happened, December 11th will be Henry's time. He feels like fans will see the best version of him yet and should be excited for what he's bringing to the ring in Biloxi.
"It's been a while, I've been training really hard. I'm feeling better than I have in a very long time. During the corona, I lost two schools students. I converted my West Monroe school to a striking MMA school. I was training for Bare Knuckle at a Jiu Jitsu place. Now I've actually got a gym to train out of."
All in all, Quentin Henry is out for therapy. His own therapy: "I've been dealing with everything else like everyone in 2020. Fighting is kind of like therapy to me. It's not so bad to have something like that as a distraction."
BKFC-15 ‘The British Are Coming’ is headlined by the highly anticipated BKFC Heavyweight World Title Eliminator between Mark ‘The Hand Of’ Godbeer and Sam ‘The Mountain Man’ Shewmaker. Co-featured in a Highly Anticipated Grudge Match, Tyler ‘The Tornado’ Goodjohn and Charles ‘Felony’ Bennett clash in the 150lb. division.
Limited tickets for BKFC-15 are priced from $55 to $125 and are now on-sale through the BKFC website, (www.BareKnuckle.TV ). The event will follow all government protocols with socially distanced seating and all attendees wearing face masks.
Additional fights planned for BKFC-15 will be announced shortly.
Get the BKTV app here
