Austin Vanderford
Skill profile
138 MMA anchors Striking, Grappling · his tags and claims adjust Accuracy, Control · stats alone on Striking D, Durability, Wrestling, TD Defense.
Built on 16 minutes of tracked cage time across 2 statted fights — every axis is held down until there is more tape, so read this as a sketch rather than a verdict.
Career rates — the raw numbers behind the chart
Insider info
vs Ramiz Brahimaj clear UFC 320 Full Analysis, Prediction & Breakdown · September 30, 2025
Settles plainly on Vanderford ('I'm going to take') with a real mechanism (top control, staying safe off his submissions), while separately noting Brahimaj stays live for an early finish -- a method hedge, not a win hedge.
A grappling-first fighter whose hands are merely competent -- a workable jab and some pop -- while his floor game does the heavy lifting. He mixes takedowns in behind his strikes, keeps people under him with strong top pressure, moves cleanly between positions, and punishes from on top with brutal elbows. The analyst credits a strong UFC debut on short notice and expects this top game to carry the fight once it leaves round one.
Fight history
L Ramiz Brahimaj 12-5 walk-in Submission · R2 2:24 — UFC 320: Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 · October 4, 2025
W Nikolay Veretennikov 0-1 walk-in KO/TKO · R2 4:13 — UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song · February 22, 2025
Walk-in records count UFC bouts in this database. For the pre-UFC career, see the record breakdown below or the Tapology button up top.
Record breakdown
Wins by method
Losses by method
Fights by organization
+ 1 more organizations in the full career list
Full career — 16 fights, every organization
| Opponent | Method | Event | Org | Rd | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L | Ramiz Brahimaj | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 320
October 4, 2025 |
UFC | 2 | 2:24 |
| W | Nikolay Veretennikov | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song
February 22, 2025 |
UFC | 2 | 4:13 |
| W | Victor Romero | TKO (punch and elbows) | LFA 194
October 18, 2024 |
LFA | 1 | 1:05 |
| L | Aaron Jeffery | TKO (punches) | Bellator 284
August 12, 2022 |
Bellator | 1 | 1:25 |
| L | Gegard Mousasi | TKO (punches) | Bellator 275
February 25, 2022 |
Bellator | 1 | 1:25 |
| W | Fabian Edwards | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 259
May 21, 2021 |
Bellator | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Vinicius de Jesus | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 251
November 5, 2020 |
Bellator | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Grachik Bozinyan | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 234
November 15, 2019 |
Bellator | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Joseph Creer | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Bellator 225
August 24, 2019 |
Bellator | 2 | 5:00 |
| W | Cody Jones | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Bellator 215
February 15, 2019 |
Bellator | 1 | 4:49 |
| W | Edmilson Freitas | KO (punch) | Final Fight Championship 32
October 19, 2018 |
Final Fight Championship | 1 | 1:38 |
| W | Angelo Trevino | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Dana White's Contender Series 13
July 17, 2018 |
Dana White's Contender Series | 2 | 2:42 |
| W | Kenny Licea | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Victory FC 59
December 16, 2017 |
Victory FC | 2 | 4:03 |
| W | Ben Fodor | Decision (unanimous) | CageSport 47
October 14, 2017 |
CageSport | 5 | 5:00 |
| W | Adam Fugitt | Decision (unanimous) | Arena Wars: Total Kombat
July 8, 2017 |
Arena Wars | 3 | 5:00 |
| W | Sol Renato | TKO (punches) | Prime Fighting 9
March 11, 2017 |
Prime Fighting | 1 | 2:33 |
Career history from the fighter's Wikipedia record table (Austin Vanderford) — results only, no strike stats; UFC bouts are marked and carry full stats in the fight history above.
Division context
Headshot of Austin Vanderford by Web Summit · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · cropped and resized