Austin Vanderford guarantees a finish in Bellator debut
Austin Vanderford had a pretty memorable 2018 with a victory on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. He also got married to Paige VanZant and recently signed with Bellator. Vanderford hopes to continue the momentum this year starting with a debut victory over Cody Jones.
“This is the way our life goes,” said Vanderford.
“This is what we love and this is what we signed up for … I am so thankful to be signed with Bellator and to have a home now. And have some consistency. It is tough going out and getting fights with all of these different organizations,” he continued.
Vanderford was originally scheduled to make his debut in January until the fight was scrapped. Fast forward six weeks later and he now has a new opponent. Sometimes short fights camps work out to the fighter’s advantage. Looking ahead to Bellator 215, Vanderford found some words of wisdom from Michael Bisping.
“Im feeling this from Michael Bisping: I heard him say it to Joe Rogan on his podcast talking about ‘you’re young in your career, and there’s not really fight camps right now,'” Said Vanderford.
“What got me this opportunity is because I was ready and I didn’t have a fight on the horizon. But I love to train, my wife was getting ready for a fight so of course I’m going to be at the gym,” he continued.
With Cody Jones as the new opponent for Vanderford, he is focusing on his fight game rather than Jones.
“As far as the training camp goes, its tough to say,” Vanderford explained.
“He’s 6-2 and there’s not a ton of film on him. So it is kind of tough to break down tendencies … so I’m going to go out and focus on what I do. It’s what Lead me here. It got me a 6-0 record and I’m going to go out and take care of business,” he finished.
So what, exactly, is the game plan for the newly acquired Bellator fighter?
“From the little bit we’ve seen, he’s taller he throws some wild stuff,” Vanderford claimed.
“So [I’ll] just be ready for whatever. I think he’s a brown belt in jiu jitsu so he’s got some knowledge and skills on the ground.”
While Vanderford is 100% focused on the task at hand with Jones, he predicts a victory in his debut for Bellator.
“I’ve finished four out of six of my opponents … I can pretty much guarantee that it’s going to be a finish Friday night,” Vanderford exclaimed.
Bellator 215 takes place Fri. Feb. 15 at Mohegan Sun in Uncansville, CT at 9:00 PM EST and can be seen on the Paramount Network.
LISTEN TO AUSTIN VANDERFORD BELOW:
