The former wrestling impossible climbed to the top of the division before it fails at the last obstacle.
The long -awaited return from the UFC to Seattle has undergone many changes before 22 February with one of the latest updates that a former Bellator Star debut will see in the short -term promotion.
Austin Vanderford is now ready to participate in the Climate Plede Arena on a map with a Bantamweight confrontation between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong, where he will be confronted with Nikolay Veretennikov.
'The Gentleman' made his name outside the UFC where he used to be a staple of Bellator's middleweight division.
As one of the best contenders in the promotion and the husband of former UFC star Paige Vanzant, many fans will already be familiar with Vanderford, even if they have not followed his career extensively.
Austin Vanderford went 11-0 before he was challenging for the Bellator Middleweight Title
As a former dual Naia All-American Wrestler, Austin Vanderford showed early in his MMA career.
He debuted in March 2017 and achieved four wins in one year before he had the opportunity to compete with the Contender Series of Dana White in 2018.
Despite the submission of Angelo Trevino in the second round, Vanderford did not make enough impression to earn a contract and join his wife, Paige Vanzant, in the UFC, but after he had won another victory, he signed for Bellator in 2019.
Photo by Chris Unger/DWTNCS LLC
'The Gentleman' continued to dominate opponents with his wrestling while collecting four victories in the promotion to make his way to the top of the middleweight ladder.
At Bellator 259 he faced fellow top candidate Fabian Edwards and defeated the #4-ranged Brit through a one-sided unanimous decision, despite the suffering of a horrible cut, to appear as the next title challenge on 185 pounds.
The stage was then set for the undefeated candidate to face the reigning middleweight champion and former UFC -hunter Gangarded Mousasi in Bellator 275 in February 2022 in Dublin, Ireland.
Although Mousasi was always known as incredibly well -rounded, his striking would be the key in this fight and he was able to land several important shots in the opening minute of the fight.
This led the Challenger -Schietersparte for a Takedown that was easily defended by the champion who replied with land and pound, forcing the referee to board just 85 seconds.
Austin Vanderford fought again in Bellator
After his loss against Gerdin Vanderford, Austin Vanderford returned later that year where he was again put in 85 seconds in a crazy case of Deja VU, this time by Aaron Jeffery.
The 34-year-old would eventually return after two years of inactivity by fighting for a new promotion, LFA, who has been a consistent evidence for hunters before they enter the UFC.
Vanderford moved to Welterweight for his fight with Victor Romero on LFA 194, where he dropped his opponent with a strict Jab around one minute before he followed some devastating elbows.
With a general record of 12-2, he will now cancel the Octagon just a few days to see Kazakhstan's Nikolay Verettennikov, who sustained a split decision loss on his UFC debut last August.
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