Austin Vanderford picked up the biggest win of his career in dominating fashion last night at Bellator 251. “The Gentleman” knocked off Vinicius de Jesus by unanimous decision. With the victory, he improves to a perfect 10-0 record, professionally.
Austin Vanderford is victorious.
As the opening round started, de Jesus found early some success. However, by the end of the first, Vanderford found his grove and finished in complete control.
During the second round, Vanderford pressed forward on de Jesus. Vanderford landed some damaging shots and dragged de Jesus to the mat. The new American Top-Team member smothered de Jesus in top position and outworked him on the canvas. At the end of the second round, Vanderford set up in a dominant submission position. Fortunately, for de Jesus, the bell sounded and the round ended.
The third round reflected Vanderford’s second-round dominance. He worked de Jesus down to the mat and landed vicious strikes. A pool of blood appeared as a testament to Vanderford’s power. With the closing bell, it was clear the “The Gentleman” was victorious.
Vanderford is a serious problem. Scott Coker has found himself a star in the middleweight division. With a perfect 4-0 record in Bellator, it’s hard to imagine Vanderford does not have a title shot in his future.
At his post-fight press conference, Vanderford spoke about the 185-lb. title and stated, “I definitely think I have a lot of room to grow and to get to the point where I’m fighting for the title.” Vanderford continued, “I want people to know that I deserve it and I’m ready to fight for the title.”
With such an impressive performance, fans must be eager to see Vanderford return to the cage. As the middleweight division just crowned Gegard Mousasi as its champion, the division is wide open. A win over Fabian Edwards, Ed Ruth, or Lyoto Machida, would propel the middleweight star one step closer to title contention.
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