Austin Vanderford’s long wait to debut in the octagon paid off at UFC Fight Night 252 in the form of a second-round TKO of Nikolay Veretennikov.
It was a dominant performance by former Bellator fighter Vanderford (13-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who is also known as the husband of Paige VanZant. He grappled Veretennikov (12-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) to the mat in the first and threatened with submissions, then picked up where he left off to ground-and-pound his way to a TKO at the 4:13 mark of Round 2.
Veretennikov wasn’t happy with the stoppage, and he made that much clear by charging across the octagon and pushed Vanderford from behind while he was talking to his team. Security quickly broke it up, and Vanderford celebrated the result.
Check out the replay of the scenes below (via X):
AUSTIN VANDERFORD GETS THE FINISH IN HIS UFC DEBUT
#UFCSEATTLE pic.twitter.com/KQUdmLqcKk
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 23, 2025
Nikolay Veretennikov is not happy with Vanderford after his loss at #UFCSeattle.#UFCSeattle pic.twitter.com/t5Wx4ATpML
— Eddie (@Leonidasfitai) February 23, 2025
After the victory, Vanderford, who gets a late start to his UFC career at 34, said he’ll be looking to make an impact in the welterweight division going forward.
“I took this fight on four days’ notice, just stayed ready,” Vanderford said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I would’ve like to make the fight a little more exciting, I landed some good shots. … I just want to continue to keep evolve and moving up the rankings.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 252 results include:
- Austin Vanderford def. Nikolay Veretennikov via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:13
- Nursulton Ruziboev def. Eric McConico via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:33
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Rafael Cerqueira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:12
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.
