Austin Vanderford still will be fighting at next week’s Bellator 225, but it won’t be against Doug Usher.
With Usher having withdrawn from their scheduled bout, Vanderford (7-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will now face Georgia-based middleweight Joseph Creer (6-0-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a promotion official informed MMA Junkie on Tuesday.
Bellator 225 takes place Aug. 24 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. The main card airs on Paramount Network after prelims stream on MMA Junkie.
In his promotional debut in February, Vanderford took out Cody Jones via first-round arm triangle choke. The undefeated Portland Gracie Barra product has finished five of his seven victories inside the distance.
The 29-year-old middleweight first entered the national spotlight for his relationship with now-wife and UFC flyweight Paige VanZant. However, after he won a back-and-forth battle on Dana White’s Contender Series in July 2018, Vanderford proved to the world he possessed some serious fighting skills of his own.
Creer, 37, will make his Bellator debut in Bridgeport. Nicknamed “Dark Knight,” Creer has finished two fights in seven professional outings. In March 2018, Creer competed for Bellator and Monster Energy’s MMA Fight Series in Georgia. He defeated Devorious Tubbs by unanimous decision.
The current Bellator 225 includes:
- Matt Mitrione vs. Sergei Kharitonov
- Vitaly Minakov vs. Javy Ayala
- Alejandra Lara vs. Taylor Turner
- David Rickels vs. Yaroslav Amosov
- Tyrell Fortune vs. Rudy Schaffroth
- Nick Newell vs. Corey Browning
- Ricky Bandejas vs. Ahmet Kayretli
- Kastriot Xhema vs. Rodolfo Rocha
- Mike Kimbel vs. Chris Disonell
- Grant Neal vs. Alpha Toure
- Khonry Gracie vs. Oscar Vera
- Timothy Johnson vs. Azunna Anyanwu
- Austin Vanderford vs. Joseph Creer
- Sabah Homasi vs. Micah Terrill
