Austin Vanderford left anMMA match Friday looking like he'd been attacked with knives.- Despite how he looked, the American scored a comfortable, three-round win.
- "I like my fights bloody," he said, with what looked like axe wounds on his head.
Austin Vanderford finished his
The American athlete overcame bloody cuts from multiple wounds on his forehead to receive three unanimous scores of 30-27 as cageside judges rewarded the 31-year-old with victory over Fabian Edwards.
Despite how he looked, the bout itself was not particularly violent with Vanderford asserting an authority on the fight with his wrestling skills.
With the opening two rounds in the bank, and despite occasionally good takedown defense from Edwards, Vanderford took the fight back to the mat in the third and final round.
While in bottom position, Edwards scythed strikes and an elbow into Vanderford's skull, opening up those bloody wounds.
Unperturbed as he bled over his opponent, Vanderford smashed his own shots onto Edwards, before picking up the comfortable win.
Here's how Vanderford looked when he stood back up (WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTO):
"I like my fights bloody, whether it's me or my opponent," said Vanderford in a statement sent to Insider.
"I'll get a scab. Hats off to Fabian who cut me up a little bit, but I'm happy to get the win."
Vanderford continued: "He was a big, strong guy. I started feeling him give me that head and arm choke.
"Unfortunately, I didn't capitalize on it. But I knew what I was going to do. I was going to just grind it out. He's a good striker so I had to be careful but I felt good.
"Wrestling … it's my heart. I'm ready for the next step."
Having advanced his unbeaten pro MMA career to 11 wins (three knockouts, three submissions, and five decisions), it is unclear what is next for the fighter.
However, he is not too far away from a shot at the Bellator MMA title - and will likely start campaigning for one to Bellator boss Scott Coker behind the scenes.