Austin Vanderford continued his undefeated run at Bellator 225 with a stoppage win after 10 minutes of action.
Bridgeport, CT – Austin Vanderford utilized his wrestling to get by Joseph Creer, forcing a doctor’s stoppage at the end of the second round. Bellator 225 marked the eighth win in the career of Vanderford and his first at middleweight.
“It felt good. I moved up a weight class, moved up to 185, and I wanted to see how my body would respond and see how I felt. And I feel good. I felt like he was a big opponent too for 185. He’s a tall guy so it gave me a realistic look at what I have going forward and whatnot. I feel so nice not killing myself to make 170. I got in and got it done.”
Vanderford is gaining confidence with each win and is prepared to fight the upper echelon of fighters in Bellator’s middleweight division.
“That’s the plan. I want to fight the best in the world. I feel like my skillset is set up for guys like that. I’m durable, I’m tough, I’m going to go out there and I’m always looking to get a finish. That was my eighth fight and I think I have six finishes in eight pro fights. That’s what people want to see. They want to see people get cut open and bleed and I’m ready for it and I’m ready for that next jump and I want to take on a big name.”
Doctor’s stoppages can lead to confusing situations, and this one involved a very intense Paige VanZant in the corner of Vanderford.
“What’s funny is my wife was yelling at me and giving me instructions and whatnot. My wife’s my biggest coach. She’s telling me, ‘Hey, you need to go out and do this, do that…’ And I’m like, ‘Hey, babe, the fight’s over! They’re calling the fight!’ She got so caught up in it. But I knew I cut him open quite a bit, there was a lot of blood and it just kind of pumps you up even more and gets you more excited.”
Prior to Vanderford’s fight, he was called out by UFC veteran Sabah Homasi, who tallied a first-punch KO on the prelims. Vanderford, though, is looking for better options.
“Honestly, I’m not even sure who Sabah [Homasi] is or whatever. I honestly wasn’t paying attention to the fights before so Big John caught me off guard and I was like, ‘I don’t know who the f**k that is.'”
It’s safe to say that Vanderford understands why he’s being called out.
“I’m Mr. VanZant right here. I’m going to keep doing it. Like I said before, if people want to test that, prove me wrong. That’s all I have to say about that.”
Check out the rest of Austin Vanderford’s Bellator 225 post-fight scrum above!
