Paige Van Zant’s husband is now a UFC fighter.
Former Bellator Middleweight title challenger and Contender Series alumni Austin Vanderford is stepping in on four days’ notice to fight Nikolay Veretennikov at UFC Seattle this weekend (Sat. Feb. 22, 2025), which is set to go down inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. The fight will be a catchweight.
Full Send MMA was the first to break the news.
Photo by Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images
After being snubbed of a UFC contract on season two of Contender Series, Vanderford (12-2) ended up signing with Bellator, where he fought seven times and went 5-2.
The Portland-born fighter competed for the Bellator Middleweight title against Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 275 but got knocked out in less than two minutes (watch highlights). He got knocked out again in his next outing against Aaron Jeffery and then was released from Bellator.
Vandeford took two years off and then resurfaced in LFA, where he clobbered Victor Romero in a minute.
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Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC
Veretennikov (12-5) was scheduled to face Billy Ray Goff last weekend at UFC Vegas 102 but was pulled when Goff got rescheduled (and then pulled out).
The 35-year-old lost his UFC debut against Danny Barlow via split decision (he also walked the wrong way to the Octagon).
UFC Seattle has been decimated, but check out the entire card here.
