Photo | Austin Vanderford suffers nasty gash in win over Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259

Austin Vanderford suffered a nasty gash during his unanimous decision win over Fabian Edwards this evening at Bellator 259.

Vanderford (11-0 MMA) and Edwards (9-2 MMA) squared off in a pivotal middleweight matchup tonight in Uncasville.

Austin, the husband of Paige VanZant, was looking to improve to a perfect 5-0 under the Bellator banner, this after earning wins over Cody Jones, Joseph Creer, Grachik Bozinyan and Vinicius de Jesus.

PhotoCred: The Telegraph

Meanwhile, Fabian Edwards had entered tonight’s Bellator 259 event in hopes of rebound from this first loss of his career. That setback had occurred to Costello van Steenis by way of split-decision back in September.

Tonight’s Vanderford vs. Edwards bout proved to be a hard fought fifteen minute affair. Austin was ultimately able to get the better of the Birmingham native due to some timely takedowns and strong top game. Mr. VanZant won the fight on all three judges scorecards 30-27.

Although it was an impressive performance from Austin Vanderford, he did not leave the contest unscathed.

As showcased below in a photo shared by Caposa on Twitter, ‘The Gentleman’ suffered a nasty gash on his forehead this evening.

Nasty cut on Vanderford's head from a Fabian Edwards elbow off his back. pic.twitter.com/L83NzFF7mu

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 22, 2021

Austin Vanderford is now due for either a top contender fight or the next shot at the Bellator middleweight title. Who would you like to see Mr. VanZant fight next following his unanimous decision victory over Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!