Austin Vanderford is a UFC fighter. Thirteen years after his competitive MMA journey began, Vanderford (12-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will debut Saturday at UFC Fight Night 252 in Seattle in a 175-pound catchweight bout vs. Nikolay Veretennikov . The bout will take place on the prelims at Climate Pledge Arena. Two people with knowledge of the matchup Tuesday informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.