Vanderford vs Veretennikov

Who won Vanderford vs Veretennikov?

Austin Vanderford beat Nikolay Veretennikov by knockout in the 2nd round during the prelims of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 22nd February 2025 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

Vanderford vs Veretennikov stats

Austin Vanderford stepped into the octagon with a record of 11 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Nikolay Veretennikov made his way to the cage with a record of 12 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 9 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Austin Vanderford's 1st fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2025. Nikolay Veretennikov marked his 2nd fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2024.

Austin Vanderford's UFC record stood at 1-0-0, while Nikolay Veretennikov's came in at 0-2-0.

The stats suggested Veretennikov had a massive power advantage over Vanderford, boasting a 75% knock out percentage over Vanderford's 27%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Vanderford had an advantage over Veretennikov, with a 27% submission rate over Veretennikov's 8%.

Austin Vanderford was the older man by 35 years, at 35 years old.

Veretennikov had a height advantage of 3 inches over Vanderford. Despite this, both fighters had a equal reach.

Vanderford was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 4 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2017, 4 years and 4 months later than Veretennikov, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 4 less professional rounds, 31 to Veretennikov's 35.

Vanderford vs Veretennikov form

Austin Vanderford had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Aaron Jeffery at Bellator 284 on 12th August 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Gegard Mousasi at Bellator MMA on 25th February 2022 by knockout in the 1st round in their Bellator Middleweight championship fight at 3Arena Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

Going into that contest, he had won against Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259 on 21st May 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, United States.

Before that, he had beaten Vinicius de Jesus at Bellator 251 on 5th November 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

He had defeated Grachik Bozinyan at Bellator 234 on 14th November 2019 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Menora Mivtachim Arena, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Activity check

Vanderford's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 5 months and 13 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 1 month and 2 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

Veretennikov's last 2 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 1 month and 8 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 2 years and 20 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 6 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What time did Vanderford vs Veretennikov start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 11:50 PM UTC , which was 6:50 PM EST or 3:50 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 11:50 PM GMT in the UK.

What were the odds on Vanderford vs Veretennikov?

Austin Vanderford was a 9/10 (-110) underdog going into the contest, while Nikolay Veretennikov made his way into the ring at 9/10 (-110) with oddsmakers.