Austin Vanderford (born March 21, 1990) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

, currently signed to

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

where he competes in the Middleweight division. As of February 7, 2023, he is #6 in the Bellator Middleweight Rankings.

Background

Vanderford was born in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

, before moving at the age of 9 months old to Ninilchik, Alaska and developing 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) both his junior and senior years. After moving to

Southern Oregon University Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in state ownership, owned by the state or receives significant government spending, public funds through a nation ...

, Vanderford joined the wrestling team, becoming the NAIA National Wrestling Champion (184 lbs.) in 2012 and was a 2-time NAIA All-American wrestler. After finishing his college career graduating with a Bachelors degree, he took up a coaching job with the University for a couple of years, before following his desire to fight and moved swiftly on to the lower ranks of the welterweight MMA circuit and effortlessly winning all four bouts of his amateur career.

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

. 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 Gegard Mousasi (born 1 August 1985), is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer, currently competing in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. As of December 13, 2022, he is #10 in the Bellator m ...

at Bellator 275 on February 25, 2022 at the

3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 December 2008. It was built on the site of the former Point Theatre, a smaller musi ...

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, Ireland. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one. Vanderford was scheduled to face Anthony Adams at

Bellator 284 ''Bellator 284: Gracie vs. Yamauchi'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on August 12, 2022, at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. Background The main event will feature a bat ...

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.

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

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Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

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Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the ...

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Amateur mixed martial arts record

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Grants Pass, Oregon Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, along the Rogue River. The population was 39,189 at the 2020 census. History Early Hudson's Bay Company hun ...

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Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

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Submission grappling record

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:left;" , - , colspan=8 style="text-align:center;" , ? Matches, ? Wins (? Submissions), ? Losses (? Submissions), ? Draws , - ! Result ! style="text-align:center;", Rec. ! Opponent ! Method ! Event ! Division ! Date ! Location , - , Loss , style="text-align:center;", 2–2–0 , Gabriel Checco , Submission (Rear Naked Choke) , Submission Underground 14 , , May 31, 2020 ,

, U.S. , - , win , style="text-align:center;", 2–1–0 , Richie Martinez , Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) , Submission Underground 13 , , April 26, 2020 ,

, U.S. , - , win , style="text-align:center;", 1–1–0 , Micah Brakefield , Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) , Submission Underground 11 , , February 23, 2020 ,

, U.S. , - , Loss , style="text-align:center;", 0–1–0 ,

Jake Shields Jake Sequoyah Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and submission grappler. He was the last Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Champion, the only Elite XC Welterweight Champion, a former Shooto Welterweig ...

, N/A , Submission Underground 8 , , May 12, 2019 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderford, Austin 1990 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers People from Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Bellator male fighters