The former wrestling standout climbed to the top of the division before falling short at the final hurdle.
The UFC’s long awaited return to Seattle has been through a lot of changes ahead of February 22 with one of the latest updates seeing a former Bellator star debut in the promotion on short notice.
Austin Vanderford is now set to compete at the Climate Pledge Arena on a card headlined by a bantamweight showdown between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong where he will face Nikolay Veretennikov.
‘The Gentleman’ made his name outside of the UFC where he was previously a staple of Bellator’s middleweight division.
As one of the top contenders in the promotion and the husband of former UFC star Paige VanZant, many fans will already be familiar with Vanderford even if they haven’t followed his career extensively.
- READ MORE: Song Yadong concussed contender with three-punch combination KO to show UFC superstar potential
Austin Vanderford went 11-0 before challenging for the Bellator middleweight title
As a former two-time NAIA All-American wrestler, Austin Vanderford showed clear potential early on in his MMA career.
He made his debut in March of 2017 and racked up four wins in one year before getting the chance to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018.
Despite submitting Angelo Trevino in the second round, Vanderford didn’t impress enough to earn himself a contract and join his wife, Paige VanZant, in the UFC but after going away and getting one more win, he signed for Bellator in 2019.
‘The Gentleman’ continued to dominate opponents with his grappling as he accumulated four wins in the promotion to climb his way to the top of the middleweight ladder.
At Bellator 259, he faced fellow top contender Fabian Edwards, beating the #4-ranked Brit via a one-sided unanimous decision, despite suffering a gruesome cut, to emerge as the next title challenger at 185-pounds.
The stage was then set for the undefeated contender to face the reigning middleweight champion and former UFC fighter Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 275 in February of 2022 in Dublin, Ireland.
Whilst Mousasi was always known for being incredibly well-rounded, his striking would be the key in this fight and he was able to land several significant shots in the opening minute of the fight.
This led to the challenger shooting for a takedown which was easily defended by the champion who replied with ground and pound, forcing the referee to step in after just 85 seconds.
- READ MORE: Henry Cejudo overcame a hellacious opening round before becoming the UFC’s fourth champ-champ
Austin Vanderford fought once more in Bellator
Following his loss to Gegard Mousasi, Austin Vanderford returned later that year where in a crazy case of Deja vu, he was once again stopped in 85 seconds, this time by Aaron Jeffery.
The 34-year-old would eventually make his return after two years of inactivity by fighting for a new promotion, LFA, which has been a consistent proving ground for fighters before they enter the UFC.
Vanderford moved down to welterweight for his bout with Victor Romero at LFA 194 where he dropped his opponent with a stern jab around the one-minute mark before following up with some devastating elbows.
With an overall record of 12-2, he will now step inside the Octagon on just a few days notice to face Kazakhstan’s Nikolay Veretennikov who suffered a split decision loss on his UFC debut last August.