Austin Vanderford has called for the UFC release of his rival Nikolay Veretennikov after their post-fight scrap.
The former Bellator title contender, who was cornered by his wife Paige VanZant, stopped Veretennikov in the second round of their clash at UFC Seattle. It was his first outing under the sport’s most famous banner, after accepting the call less than a week prior.
However, his victory was tarnished when his rival came across the octagon after the fight and pushed him, leading to a brief altercation. The pair were separated by UFC security, but it seems that after going 0-2 and losing his cool, Veretennikov may be on the outs.
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Austin Vanderford believes Nikolay Veretennikov should be fired after UFC Seattle scrap
During his post-fight press conference, Vanderford was asked if he feels that the combination of the post-fight incident and the fact he is now 0-2 might spell the end for Veretennikov in the UFC. He seemed to be over the issue, but did seem to reckon his rival’s time was up.
“I think it’s tough and for me there are no hard feelings,” Vanderford replied when asked if he felt his rival would be cut. “For me, I know the sacrifices in what we do to go out there and perform and the dreams and aspirations we all have.
“So I feel for the guy, but I mean, you go out there and get dominated and then throw a fit like that? Yeah, you probably don’t deserve to be here.”
Dana White believes post-fight scrap at UFC Seattle was not a major issue
Following the incident, Dana White was asked in the post-fight press conference if there were any similarities between it and the UFC 113 post-fight incident between Paul Daley and Koshcheck. Back then, the Brit was banned for life from the promotion after punching his opponent after the fight.
“Paul Daley punched Koshcheck in the face,” White replied when quizzed by reporters on what next steps would be. “Listen, yeah, it’s never good when you go over and I don’t know why he went after him, I understand he was upset with the referee.
“If you watch that fight, when you look, I get why he was upset. He was blocking a lot of the shots, he was trying to get out of there. Then as soon as the fight was over, listen, if a guy is taking a number of unanswered shots and laying there on the ground [then I understand].
“He was defending and moving around, so I understand why he was upset. But you know how we are here, he went over and pushed the guy, what should we do? What Paul Daley did was completely different; you just had three five minute rounds to punch this guy in the face and you couldn’t.”
“So you’re going to go punch this guy in the face after the fight when he doesn’t expect it? That’s why that was done. He went over and pushed him, we aren’t those guys… You should see what goes on [backstage] here after the fights.
“You guys would be f***ing crying forever if you knew what went on. You’d be writing f***ing all kinds of stories and ‘what are you going to do to them?’ Believe me, that was nothing.”