Ninilchik grad Vanderford gets title shot

Published 10:30 pm Friday, August 13, 2021

Austin Vanderford, a 2008 graduate of Ninilchik School, will get a title shot in the middleweight division with Bellator MMA.

Friday in the Bellator 264 main event in Uncasville, Connecticut, Gegard Mousasi defeated John Salter with a third-round TKO to retain the middleweight title.

Vanderford was announced as Mousasi’s next challenger after the fight.

The Ninilchik graduate has made a quick rise to this opportunity. Vanderford, who won an NAIA wrestling title for Southern Oregon University at 184 pounds in 2012, is 11-0 in MMA and 5-0 in Bellator fights, while Mousasi is 48-7-2 in MMA and 6-1 in Bellator action.