# Austin Vanderford

Austin Vanderford (born March 21, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously fought in Bellator MMA, where he contended for the Bellator Middleweight World Championship.

## Background

Vanderford was born in Santa Rosa, California, before moving at the age of 9 months old to Ninilchik, Alaska. He would develop a taste for competitive sport while wrestling for his high school team, where he became a 2-time Alaska State Wrestling Champion (2007-160 lbs, 2006-152 lbs) in his junior and senior years.
Vanderford wrestled at Southern Oregon University, becoming the NAIA National Wrestling Champion in 2012 (184 lbs.) and was a 2-time NAIA All-American wrestler. After finishing his college career graduating with a bachelor's degree, he took up a coaching job with the university for a couple of years, before following his desire to fight competitively. Vanderford would win all four bouts of his amateur career as a welterweight.

## Mixed martial arts career
### Early career

Making his professional debut at Prime Fighting 9 on March 11, 2017, Vanderford faced Sol Renato, going on to defeat him via TKO in first round. He went on to defeat his next two opponents, Adam Fugitt and Ben Fodor, both via unanimous decisions, winning the CageSport Welterweight title against the later at CageSport 47. He would go on to tap out Kenny Licea in the second round via rear-naked choke at VFC 59, before he was invited to face Angelo Trevino on July 17, 2018, at Dana White's Contender Series 13. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke in round two, however did not secure a contract with the UFC. In his last bout on the regionals, Vanderford faced Brazil's Edmilson Freitas, knocking him out in the first round.

### Bellator MMA

After going undefeated in 6 bouts on the regional scene, Vanderford signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator MMA.
In his debut appearance with Bellator MMA at Bellator 215 on February 15, 2019, he took on Cody Jones and submitted him via arm-triangle choke in the first round.
Vanderford faced Joseph Creer at Bellator 225 on August 25, 2019, winning the bout after the doctor stopped the fight after the second round.
On November 15, 2019, at Bellator 234, he faced Russian submission specialist Grachik Bozinyan, defeating him via unanimous decision.
Vanderford was scheduled to face Daniel Madrid on September 12, 2020, at Bellator 246. However, he had to pull out of the bout due to unknown reasons.
Vanderford was scheduled to face Chris Curtis on November 5, 2020, at Bellator 251. However, Curtis had to pull out of the bout due to a positive COVID test and was replaced by Vinicius de Jesus. Vanderford won the bout via unanimous decision.
Vanderford faced Fabian Edwards on May 21, 2021, at Bellator 259, defeating him via unanimous decision.
Vanderford fought for the Bellator Middleweight World Championship against Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 275 on February 25, 2022, at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one.
Vanderford was scheduled to face Anthony Adams at Bellator 284 on August 12, 2022. After Adams pulled out of the bout 2 weeks before the event, Aaron Jeffery stepped in on short notice. He lost the bout in the first round via TKO stoppage.
Vanderford was scheduled to face Imamshafi Aliev on June 16, 2023 at Bellator 297. However, at the beginning of June, the bout was scrapped due to unknown reasons.
On February 14, 2024, Vanderford revealed that he negotiated his release from Bellator MMA.

### Ultimate Fighting Championship

On February 18, 2025, it was reported that Vanderford had signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He faced Nikolay Veretennikov on February 22, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 252 in a 175-pound catchweight bout. He won the fight by technical knockout in the second round.

## Personal life

In September 2018, Vanderford married Paige VanZant, a former UFC strawweight. The couple began dating the previous year, and Vanderford proposed to VanZant in January 2018.

## Championships and accomplishments

* CageSport
** CS Welterweight Championship (One time; former)

## Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown :
| 15 matches | 13 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 2 |
| By submission | 3 | 0 |
| By decision | 5 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 13–2 | Nikolay Veretennikov | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song | February 22, 2025 | 2 | 4:13 | Seattle, Washington, United States | Catchweight (175 lb) bout. |
| Win | 12–2 | Victor Romero | TKO (punch and elbows) | LFA 194 | October 18, 2024 | 1 | 1:05 | Niagara Falls, New York, United States | Return to Welterweight. |
| Loss | 11–2 | Aaron Jeffery | TKO (punches) | Bellator 284 | August 12, 2022 | 1 | 1:25 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | |
| Loss | 11–1 | Gegard Mousasi | TKO (punches) | Bellator 275 | February 25, 2022 | 1 | 1:25 | Dublin, Ireland | For the Bellator Middleweight World Championship. |
| Win | 11–0 | Fabian Edwards | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 259 | May 21, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 10–0 | Vinicius de Jesus | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 251 | November 5, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 9–0 | Grachik Bozinyan | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 234 | November 15, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Tel Aviv, Israel | |
| Win | 8–0 | Joseph Creer | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Bellator 225 | August 24, 2019 | 2 | 5:00 | Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States | Middleweight debut. |
| Win | 7–0 | Cody Jones | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Bellator 215 | February 15, 2019 | 1 | 4:49 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Catchweight (175 lb) bout. |
| Win | 6–0 | Edmilson Freitas | KO (punch) | Final Fight Championship 32 | October 19, 2018 | 1 | 1:38 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Angelo Trevino | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Dana White's Contender Series 13 | July 17, 2018 | 2 | 2:42 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Kenny Licea | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Victory FC 59 | December 16, 2017 | 2 | 4:03 | Omaha, Nebraska, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Ben Fodor | Decision (unanimous) | CageSport 47 | October 14, 2017 | 5 | 5:00 | Tacoma, Washington, United States | Won the CS Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 2–0 | Adam Fugitt | Decision (unanimous) | Arena Wars: Total Kombat | July 8, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Medford, Oregon, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Sol Renato | TKO (punches) | Prime Fighting 9 | March 11, 2017 | 1 | 2:33 | Ridgefield, Washington, United States | Welterweight debut. |

### Amateur mixed martial arts record

| Amateur record breakdown | Amateur record breakdown | |
| 4 matches | 4 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 0 |
| By submission | 2 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
| Win | 4–0 | Erik Herman | Decision (unanimous) | Arena Wars: Redemption | April 9, 2016 | 5 | 3:00 | Grants Pass, Oregon, United States | Won the RPMMA Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 3–0 | Daniel Pihl | Submission (triangle choke) | Rumble at the Roseland 85 | January 23, 2016 | 2 | 1:15 | Portland, Oregon, United States | Won the FCFF Middleweight Championship. |
| Win | 2–0 | Michael Collazo | TKO (punches) | Budofights 13 | October 24, 2015 | 1 | 2:59 | Bend, Oregon, United States | Middleweight debut. |
| Win | 1–0 | Eric McConico | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Battle in the Burg 3 | September 12, 2015 | 1 | 2:30 | Roseburg, Oregon, United States | Light Heavyweight debut. |

## Submission grappling record

? Matches, ? Wins (? Submissions), ? Losses (? Submissions), ? Draws :
| Result | Rec. | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Location |
| Loss | 2–2–0 | Gabriel Checco | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Submission Underground 14 | May 31, 2020 | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| win | 2–1–0 | Richie Martinez | Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) | Submission Underground 13 | April 26, 2020 | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| win | 1–1–0 | Micah Brakefield | Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) | Submission Underground 11 | February 23, 2020 | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Loss | 0–1–0 | Jake Shields | Fastest Total Escape Time | Submission Underground 8 | May 12, 2019 | Portland, Oregon, U.S. |