After getting snubbed on an early Contender Series appearance, Vanderford was getting his UFC career up-and-running rather late, but had won his short-notice debut against Nikolay Veretennikov back in February.

Both fighters started out cautiously in the first round, with Vanderford circling away from his opponent. A good jab landed by Vanderford but was answered with a swift low leg kick by Brahimaj. Two minutes into the round Vanderford threw a lightning fast head kick that startled his opponent. Moments later Vanderford landed an impressive takedown forcing Brahimaj to the floor. While in full guard Vandeford isolated an arm then landed a damaging elbow on his opponent. Through the first five minutes it was all Austin Vanderford, who showcased his skills standing and on the ground in round one.

In the second, Brahimaj started with a different sense of urgency landing a beautiful lead leg head kick that stumbled Vanderford forcing him to shoot for a desperation takedown. Vanderford was able to battle through the early adversity in the round and dragged Brahimaj back to the floor. With a massive cut over his head Vanderford found himself inside a guillotine choke that was locked in tight. Brahimaj squeezed and forced the betting favorite Vanderford to tap in round number two.

Ramiz Brahimaj earned his 12th professional win by submission and improved his winning streak to three at UFC 320.

Official Result: Ramiz Brahimaj def. Austin Vanderford by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 2:24

The post UFC 320: Ramiz Brahimaj Submits Bloodied Austin Vanderford appeared first on Cageside Press.

As recently as Monday, Vanderford (13-2) believed he wasn’t going to be on the card, after his unnamed original opponent fell through. That led Vanderford and wife Paige VanZant to cancel their flight plans, though on a hunch, they rebooked on a later flight.

“Thank God I got another call saying this guy could make it at a catchweight. And I was like ‘let’s go,'” Vanderford said following the fight at the Climate Pledge Arena, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “It was a whirlwind for sure.”

The post-fight push by Nikolay Veretennikov, apparently unprovoked, caught everyone by surprise. Coming well after the bell, officials were already in the cage and quickly separated the pair; Vanderford threw up double middle fingers as a result.

“Funny enough, I had dropped the nickname ‘The Gentleman’ for this fight, and I guess now there’s a picture of me with the double fingers up,” quipped Vanderford. “It was kind of weird, I thought he was coming up to say ‘good fight,’ but I didn’t really understand. He was never going to get out of the position he was in unless time ran out or the ref stopped him. I had a good grip on him, and he got saved. He was going to get hurt even worse. I was landing some shots, but I was getting everything back and I was going to go in for a hard one.”

Asked whether he felt Veretennikov would be cut for the infraction, Vanderford show a little bit of sympathy, but doesn’t expect his UFC Seattle foe will stick around.

“Yeah I mean, I think it’s tough. For me, no hard feelings. I know the sacrifices in what we do to go out there and perform, I know the dreams and aspirations we all have. I feel for the guy, but yeah, you go out there and get dominated and throw a fit like that, you probably don’t deserve to be here.”

Vanderford, a former Bellator MMA middleweight title challenger, took Saturday’s short-notice scrap at a 175lb catchweight, but welterweight will be his home for the foreseeable future. The former Contender Series winner, infamously snubbed of a contract despite securing a finish on the show, noted that making 170 is now easier than making weight as a middleweight. “I had some success, I had some good wins against quality guys at 185, but I think at 170, you’ll really be able to see a guy who can go out there and make a push at this,” he told Cageside Press.

Watch the full UFC Seattle post-fight appearance by Austin Vanderford above.

The post UFC Seattle: Austin Vanderford Reacts to Post-Fight Shove appeared first on Cageside Press.

For some, the short-notice fight against Nikolay Veretennikov may have seemed to come out of left field. However, when Vanderford exited the Bellator/PFL umbrella and took a fight (and won decisively) for LFA last October, his eventual destination appeared self-evident. Especially with VanZant herself back in the fold, somewhat, care of PowerSlap.

A heavy exchange in the pocket from both guys early in the fight got the action started. Vanderford was trying to land moving in and out as Veretennikov was landing good in twos. Just as he started to land Vanderford changed levels nicely and got the takedown. Right away he skimmed the forehead of Veretennikov with an elbow causing a cut along the hairline. Vanderford was comfortable on top smashing with short elbows. Veretennikov was a bit careless with his position letting Vanderford jump to side control for an arm-triangle. He didn’t have the angle and the time so Veretennikov was able to survive the round.

In round two Veretennikov came marching forward. He was throwing but overreaching and let Vanderford push him against the cage. Vanderford was able to chain a takedown to the legs to get the eventual scoop takedown. The best weapon of Vanderford in round one was his ground and pound and it continued in round two. Veretennikov had no answer on the bottom. Vanderford had an arm trapped and landed many unanswered punches until the ref stepped in. An angry Veretennikov, irate about the stoppage, crossed the cage and shoved Vanderford as officials moved in to separate the pair – but Veretennikov had no one but himself to be mad at, as he did nothing to get out of that position. Now, he’s likely secured his exit from the UFC.

Official Result: Austin Vanderford def. Nikolay Veretennikov by TKO (ground and pound), Round 2, 4:13

The post UFC Seattle: Austin Vanderford Dominant in Debut, Nikolay Veretennikov Causes Scene with Post-Fight Shove appeared first on Cageside Press.

After challenging for gold in Bellator, exiting the promotion last year, and picking up a win in LFA, Vanderford (12-2) has joined UFC Seattle, where he will face Nikolay Veretennikov (12-5).

Cageside Press confirmed the booking following an initial report from Full Send MMA. Due to the short-notice nature of the pairing for both fighters, the fight will be contested at a catchweight of 175lbs.

Husband of former UFC and BKFC star Paige VanZant, Vanderford earned five straight victories under the Bellator banner from 2019 to 2021 to earn a shot at then-middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi. After being finished by Mousasi, Vanderford suffered another TKO defeat at the hands of fellow Contender Series vet Aaron Jeffery. Missing all of 2023, Vanderford returned to action in October, making short work of Victor Romero at LFA 194.

UFC Seattle takes place on February 22, and has taken a number of hits, losing Dominick Cruz in particular (who subsequently announced his retirement), as well as Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev (shifted to UFC 313) and Macy Chiasson vs. Ketlen Vieira (off due to a Chiasson injury).

The following match-ups remain attached to the card at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA:

• Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong
• Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez
• Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto
• Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
• Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker
• Ion Cuțelaba vs. Ibo Aslan
• Andre Fili vs. Melquizael Costa
• Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Nick Klein
• Ricky Simón vs. Javid Basharat
• Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Austin Vanderford
• Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Eric McConico
• Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira

The post Years After DWCS Snub, Austin Vanderford Jumps on UFC Seattle on Short Notice appeared first on Cageside Press.

Shamidkhan Magomedov faced Alfonso Leyva in that headliner, with interim champ Magomedov returning from The Ultimate Fighter 32, where he lost to Omran Chaaban, fighting for the first time since the show filmed/aired. As for Leyva, he entered off a win over Sarek Shields in December, a highlight-reel flying knee.

Making his LFA debut, meanwhile, was Austin Vanderford, one of the more infamous snubs on Dana White’s Contender Series. Denied a contract in 2018 despite earning a submission win on the show, Vanderford, who happens to be married to Paige VanZant, went on to a solid career in Bellator MMA, where he earned a title shot against Gegard Mousasi after wins over Fabian Edwards and Vinicius de Jesus, among others.

Following a loss to Aaron Jeffery in 2022, Vanderford wound up on the sidelines, and negotiated his release from the promotion following the PFL’s purchase of Bellator. He returns to action for the first time in over two years on Friday, and drops from middleweight to welterweight in the process.

Where to Watch LFA 194

Legacy Fighting Alliance sets up shop at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, New York on Friday, October 18, 2024. The main card airs live on UFC Fight Pass, getting underway at 9PM ET, 6PM PT following online and dark prelims. Full results from the event can be found below.

LFA 194: Magomedov vs. Leyva Results

Main Card

Shamidkhan Magomedov vs. Alfonso Leyva via R1 KO, 1:17 – for the LFA interim welterweight championship
Mirafzal Akhtamov def. Scottie Stockman via R1 SUB (Guillotine), 0:53
Erick Visconde def. Busurmankul Abdibait by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Giovanna Canuto def. Ershirley Kessy by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 4:03
Austin Vanderford def. Victor Romero by KO, Round 1, 1:05
Lance Lawrence def. Jacob Bohn by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 3:41
Bia Mesquita def. Shannel Butler by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:24

Preliminary Card

Matt Adams def. Saulo Cavalari by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Adam Livingston def. Jake Hixenbaugh by TKO, Round 1, 1:50
Kevin Carrier def. Carlo Ricci by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2
Freddy Vidal def. Mike Kennedy by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Derrick Patterson def. Vincenzo Iannuzzo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Brian Torres def. Melvin Jovel

The post LFA 194: Magomedov vs. Leyva Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Wednesday, promotion officials announced the addition of six new fights to the Bellator 297 card, including a couple of ranked fighters.

Foremost among the newly added match-ups is a middleweight contest featuring former title challenger Austin Vanderford (11-2), ranked #5 in the division, taking on undefeated Dagestani prospect Imamshafi Aliev (9-0).

Aliev will be entering the Bellator cage for the second time in the fight, and will be getting his toughest test yet against American Top Team’s Vanderford, a former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor who was denied a contract despite finishing on the show in 2018.

Also added to the docket on June 16, Leandro Higo (21-6), ranked #7 in the bantamweight division, looks to bounce back from a loss in the Bantamweight World Grand Prix against Danny Sabatello when he takes on Russian Nikita Mikhailov (9-2).

Higo joined Bellator in 2017, and faced Darrion Caldwell for the promotion’s 135lb title the following year.

Another middleweight fight freshly added to Bellator 297 sees Jordan Newman (5-0) take on Matthew Perry (5-3), while at lightweight Mike Hamel (10-5) takes on Shamil Nikaev (10-0). Featherweight prospect Cody Law (6-2) returns against newcomer Edwin Chavez (6-4), and rounding on the new additions, Wladmir Gouvea (1-0) takes on Kevin Childs (1-1) at heavyweight.

Bellator 297 is led by a pair of title fights, as light heavyweight champ Vadim Nemkov takes on Yoel Romero, and featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull, a former 155lb title holder, drops to bantamweight in search of a third championship against Sergio Pettis.

The following fights have been reported for Bellator 297 on June 16, 2023:

• Vadim Nemkov vs. Yoel Romero — for the Bellator MMA light heavyweight championship
• Sergio Pettis vs. Patricio Pitbull — for the Bellator MMA bantamweight championship
• Corey Anderson vs. Phil Davis
• Daniel James vs. Gokhan Saricam
• Kyle Crutchmer vs. Bobby Nash
• Austin Vanderford vs. Imamshafi Aliev
• Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Pieter Buist
• Leandro Higo vs. Nikita Mikhailov
• Jaleel Willis vs. Ramazan Kuramagomedov
• Alex Polizzi vs. Karl Moore
• Wladmir Gouvea vs. Kevin Childs
• Archie Colgan vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
• Mike Hamel vs. Shamil Nikaev
• Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs. Kamil Oniszczuk
• Timur Khizriev vs. Richie Smullen
• Jordan Newman vs. Matthew Perry
• Cody Law vs. Edwin Chavez
• Max Metzgar vs. David McKinney

The post Austin Vanderford, Leandro Higo Among Names Added to Bellator 297 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Vanderford, who suffered his first career defeat against then-champ Mousasi, had been expected to face Anthony Adams on Friday. With Adams out, however, it was Canadian Aaron Jeffery stepping up.

Jeffery made his presence felt early. In the opening thirty seconds, Jeffery landed a solid right hand, which sat Vanderford down. The American Top Team fighter would make it back up, however, and use his grappling to tie things up along the fence.

It wouldn’t stay that way for long. En route to the biggest win of his career, Jeffery landed another massive right hand. Once again, Vanderford was sat down, and appeared to be dazed. Jeffery pounced, landing a barrage of follow-up strikes as Vanderford rolled and covered up.

🤯 𝑴𝑨𝑱𝑶𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑹

It's the night of the mullets, as @AaJMMA KOs @AustinV170MMMA in the opening fight of the #Bellator284 main card.

Watch live NOW on @SHOsports. pic.twitter.com/xwfqBSU2dt

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) August 13, 2022

In short order, the ref called it, Jeffery had the win — and had truly arrived in Bellator’s middleweight division.

“People know who he is, nobody knows who I am. Hopefully they do now,” Jeffery said following the fight. After coming up short on the Contender Series, Jeffery appears to have a home in Bellator, and potentially a ranking early next week.

Official Result: Aaron Jeffery def. Austin Vanderford by TKO, Round 1, 1:25

The post Bellator 284: Aaron Jeffery Drops, Finishes Austin Vanderford Early appeared first on Cageside Press.

Vanderford (11-1) wasted no time getting back in the gym after returning home from Ireland.

“I was back right away I think within a couple weeks. We spent a little bit of time in Ireland to check things out, drink a few Guinesses and what not, and I was already back to work,” Vanderford told Cageside Press among other media on Wednesday.

His opponent Aaron Jeffery took the fight on about 8 days notice after Vanderford’s original opponent, Anthony Adams, withdrew from the fight.

“I was going to fight a mother f*cker no matter what. Whoever was going to step up that’s who I was going to fight. Aaron Jeffery is a really good fighter and I had pictured myself fighting him at some point. Whether it was sooner or later. He might not have a number next to his name, but I believe he beat quite a few guys in the top 10 anyways,” Vanderford said.

“It’s a good opponent. Someone who I’m going to be able to go out and do myself against and I look forward to it Friday.”

Vanderford trains out of the famed American Top Team in Florida with three key Bellator middleweights on the roster, Vanderford, Dalton Rosta and middleweight champion Johnny Eblen. With all three men not only ranked but one holding the title it seems inevitable that the three will collide at some point.

“We got a really good squad. Im really happy to see those guys do well too. It gives you a sense of confidence as well because you’re in there grinding with those guys every day and everyone is working together and helping each other out and stuff. It’s a cool thing you know,” he said.

“I can say proudly that I look forward and I hope that one of my next opponents is Johnny because it means he’s going out and doing his job and defending the belt. I’m doing the same thing I’m winning fights and that’s the matchup that I would want.”

Most fighters refuse to fight a teammate unless the stakes are very high and there’s no way around the bout. Vandeford has his eye on Eblen who holds the Bellator middleweight title.

“Not because I dislike Johnny or anything. I just want us both to do the best that we can, and that was someone that I look forward to.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Austin Vanderford above. Bellator 284 goes down in Sioux Falls, SD on Friday August 12th.

The post Bellator 284: Austin Vanderford Was Going To Fight Regardless Of Opponent, Wants Eblen Soon appeared first on Cageside Press.

Vanderford (11-1), who faces Aaron Jeffery (stepping in for Anthony Adams) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will be attempting to rebound from a loss for the first time in his career.

The American Top Team fighter fell to Gegard Mousasi last time out, a fight that ended almost as quickly as it began. After falling off the proverbial horse, Vanderford told Cageside Press in an exclusive interview recently that he was excited to get right back to work.

“We finished out the trip in Ireland and then we got home and I got right back to work immediately. I had like a week or 10 days off, and then right back at it,” Vanderford stated.

In a sport where “you win or you learn” is one of the underlying mottos, the middleweight was able to take away a lesson or two despite the quick end to his fight with Mousasi.

“I understand and value the lessons that are learned. I don’t even believe, I know for a fact that this is going to make me a better fighter, and make me more dangerous down the road,” he explained. “Going forward, it’s my own mistakes that will be my demise.”

In terms of the mistakes he identified in that February defeat, Vanderford explained that “I went into it confident. Actually my teammate Johnny Eblen executed the game plan and was able to get the win [at Bellator 282 in June], and that’s exactly what I had pictured myself doing as well. And unfortunately, I was just too eager right away. Got stunned a little bit, and took a bad shot and unfortunately had a little bit of an injury in there, and that was kind of all she wrote.”

Vanderford feels he may have been a little overeager in the fight. “I just think being a little bit too eager, too fast, instead of feeling it out a little bit and kind of getting into my groove and what not. In the past, I’ve had fights where I’ve gone in and I’ve felt like a bulldozer right away, but unfortunately when you’re fighting someone like Gegard Mousasi, you’ve got to be a little bit more calculated, and unfortunately I made that mistake.”

The good news is, it’s a mistake that can be fixed, noted Vanderford, and he plans on showing that at Bellator 284. He agreed that at least subconsciously, he may have let magnitude of the fight, against a legend in Mousasi, get to him. “I think part of it too, I let the moment get to me more than it should have, and that’s another thing we addressed, and I addressed within myself,” Vanderford revealed. “At the end of the day, I’m a man of faith and I don’t believe it was my time to be champion yet. But I know for a fact that my time will come. It is coming.”

When Vanderford’s initial match-up with Anthony Adams was announced, there was considerable blowback from the usual corners of the internet, complaining Adams, ranked #9, was too far down the ladder.

“Honestly I asked for everyone after John Salter [ranked #4],” Vanderford revealed. “I asked for Vladimir Tokov. And this is what they came at me with. I was trying to get whatever fight, and any ranked guy, honestly. It did not matter to me.”

With Adams out and the unranked Jeffery in, it matters even less in the end. Besides which, “the ranking system can be sort of fickle and funny sometimes; guys want to protect their ranking and do all that. I really don’t care.”

Complicating matters is that two of Austin Vanderford’s teammates at American Top Team loom large in the division. Those would be Dalton Rosta, and current middleweight champ Eblen. Both have stated they want to avoid fighting their teammates unless it’s for a title.

“I think we’re all in agreement on where we’re going to fight each other— it’s going to be for the belt, for the title,” Vanderford confirmed. “All three of us train together quite often and work out together. And to be honest, not that I’m looking to fight those guys, but I’ll be happy to fight them because that means we’re all doing something right, and we’re all winning and making money and stuff, and that’s what I think it’s all about.”

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There’s another fight Vanderford is connected to coming up — the BKFC event in London, England later this month will feature his wife, Paige VanZant. The proximity of the two fights, being just a week apart, worked out better than you might expect.

“It’s actually worked out really smooth as far as that goes. We’re both in fight camp, we’re both getting mentally prepared and doing the little things to get ready and go have a fist fight,” Vanderford stated. “It works out good, I think we take off the next morning for her fight, to fly to London. It’ll be a little bit of a unique experience for us, we haven’t had fights this close before but I’m happy that it worked out this way, honestly. I think fighting back-to-back like this makes it kind of easy.”

Vanderford has also been alongside Paige for much of her budding pro wrestling career. The talented VanZant is signed with AEW (All Elite Wrestling), the first real competition the WWE has seen in decades.

“The experience is a lot of fun, it’s a really cool, cool sport. I grew up being a wrestling fan and watching a lot of pro wrestling, so it’s kind of a dream come true to meet guys that you looked up to growing up and all that,” Vanderford said of his experience inside the squared circle, next to VanZant and a handful of other ATT fighters serving as guest stars. “But as far as pro wrestling for me, I’m 100% committed to my MMA career, and I just don’t see that changing anything soon.”

That doesn’t mean you won’t see him at all. Just not full time any time in the near future. “I do enjoy going on the trips every once in a while with Paige, and making little cameos and maybe taking a bump or two, but as far as wrestling or having a match, I don’t really foresee anything any time soon.”

Bellator 284 goes down this Friday, August 12, 2022 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Austin Vanderford faces Aaron Jeffery on the main card.

The post Returning at Bellator 284, Austin Vanderford Believes His Time As Champion Will Come appeared first on Cageside Press.

Jeffery (12-3) will face recent middleweight title challenger Austin Vanderford (11-1) at the event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He replaces Anthony Adams, who has withdrawn from the fight.

News of the match-up was first reported by ESPN. Jeffery subsequently confirmed the booking on social media.

Jeffery, who trains out of Niagara Top Team in St. Catharines, Ontario, is a two-time veteran of Dana White’s Contender Series. Long considered one of the best prospects out of Canada, he finally got a shot at the big leagues after signing with Bellator MMA earlier this year.

A former Cage Fury FC middleweight champ, Jeffery’s only losses have come to current UFC fighters Sean Brady, Brendan Allen, and Caio Borralho. He holds wins over current UFC fighter Andre Petroski, and Collin Huckbody, who infamously won on the Contender Series but later declined a UFC deal.

Vanderford will be fighting for the first time since his loss to Gegard Mousasi in a failed middleweight title bid earlier this year. The loss, a first-round TKO, was the first of Vanderford’s career.

Bellator 284 takes place on August 12, 2022 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The card currently features the following match-ups:

• Neiman Gracie vs. Goiti Yamauchi
• Valentin Moldavsky vs. Steve Mowry
• Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Bruna Ellen
• Said Sowma vs. Gokhan Saricam
• Austin Vanderford vs. Aaron Jeffery
• Josh Hill vs. Marcos Breno
• DeAnna Bennett vs. Justine Kish
• Jordan Newman vs. Lance Wright
• Sullivan Cauley vs. Tyson Jeffries
• Pat Downey vs. Jeff Souder
• Isaiah Hokit vs. Nick Perez
• Bailey Schoenfelder vs. Mark Currier
• Mitchell McKee vs. Tony Ortega
• Brett Bye vs. Chris Bonnette

The post Aaron Jeffery Steps Up Against Austin Vanderford at Bellator 284 appeared first on Cageside Press.