Champ Johnny Eblen and Austin Vanderford train at ATT. Vanderford fights at Bellator 284

It didn’t take long for new Bellator MMA middleweight champ Johnny Eblen to return to training.

Just three days after winning the title with a unanimous decision victory over Gegard Mousasi at Bellator 282, an undefeated Eblen could be found at American Top Team in Coconut Creek.

The middleweight division in Bellator is very strong, and it includes three standout fighters from ATT. Along with the champ Eblen, there is unbeaten Dalton Rosta (ranked sixth) and Austin Vanderford (ranked second).

In my video interview at ATT with the new champ, he discusses winning the title, fight day, championship fight synopsis, returning to training, family, ATT teammates, ATT/Bellator middleweights and more.

Vanderford will be featured at Bellator 284 on Friday on Showtime.

In my video interview at ATT with him, he discusses Bellator 284, ATT, Champ Johnny Eblen, travel, wife Paige VanZant, Miami Marlins, AEW, Dan Lambert and more.

August is a busy month for the Vanderford/VanZant combination. Plenty of frequent flyer miles, too.

Vanderford attended his first MLB game on Aug. 3 as Paige VanZant threw out the first pitch, before the Miami Marlins defeated the visiting Cincinnati Reds 3-0. Good mojo.

After Vanderford’s fight on Friday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the combat sports power couple will eventually plane ride to London, England for VanZant’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship battle on Aug. 20.

Bellator 284

BELLATOR 284: Gracie vs. Yamauchi is Friday, Aug. 12 from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The main card begins at 9 p.m. ET p.m. PT on Showtime. The preliminary portion of the action will begin at 6 p.m. and stream on Pluto TV, and the Showtime Sports and Bellator MMA YouTube channels.

The event is headlined by No. 5-ranked welterweight contender Neiman Gracie (11-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA) taking on the man with the most submission finishes in company history, Goiti Yamauchi (27-5 MMA, 13-4 BMMA), in a five-round, 170-pound main event matchup.

Also on the main card, heavyweight contenders in former interim champion Valentin Moldavsky (11-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) and the undefeated No. 5-ranked Steve Mowry (10-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) will meet in a thunderous clash with the potential to shape championship aspirations.

Former flyweight champion and No. 4-ranked contender Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-2 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) will look to return to the win column against Brazil’s Bruna Ellen (6-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) on the televised portion of BELLATOR 284.

Also on the main card on Showtime, No. 2- ranked middleweight Austin “The Gentleman” Vanderford (11-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) of (South Florida) American Top Team battles Aaron Jeffery (12-3), who replaces No. 9-ranked Anthony “Sugafoot” Adams (9-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA). Vanderford is vying to establish himself in the wake of ATT Teammate Johnny Eblen’s upset victory over former champion Gegard Mousasi at BELLATOR 282.

Vanderford, 32, returns to the cage after losing for the first time in his professional career against then-champion Mousasi at BELLATOR 275 in February.

Stoppage loss to Mousasi aside, Vanderford amassed a lengthy winning streak inside the Bellator cage that included dominant victories over Fabian Edwards and Vinicius de Jesus, among others. The former NAIA National wrestling champion and two-time NAIA All-American displays his refined wrestling skills alongside a more complete MMA game honed at ATT alongside top training partners and his wife Paige VanZant.

Canada’s Jeffery, 29, wowed Bellator fans with a second-round TKO of Brazil’s Fabio Aguiar (18-3) in his promotional debut at June’s BELLATOR 282. Jeffery steps in to face Vanderford on short notice after the withdrawal of Adams. Jeffery, a former CFFC middleweight champion, has won six of his last seven fights and will leap at a massive opportunity against Vanderford, the division’s No. 2-ranked contender and a recent title challenger.

The preliminary card will feature the highly anticipated MMA debut of wrestling star Pat Downey III, a former NJCAA national champion at Iowa Central Community College and a Pan-American Games medalist, as he faces Jeff Souder (2-2 amateur) at middleweight.

Also joining the card is a top-10 heavyweight tilt, as No. 9-ranked Said Sowma (8-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) faces off with Turkey’s Gokhan Saricam (7-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA), the division’s No. 10-ranked contender.

Three more preliminary bouts have been added to the BELLATOR 284 card, a heavyweight bout between Bailey “Berserk” Schoenfelder (2-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and Mark “The Jackhammer” Currier (1-1) and two bantamweight contests between No. 9-ranked “Gentleman” Josh Hill (21-4 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) and Matheus “Adamas” Mattos (13-2-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), and Mitchell “Merciless” McKee (2-0) and Tony Ortega (5-4), respectively.

Rounding out the preliminary additions, a battle of two top 10 flyweights is confirmed, as No. 6 DeAnna Bennett (12-7-1) goes toe-to-toe against No. 8 Justine Kish (8-5).

Bellator MMA’s commitment to the development of world-class martial artists inside the Bellator cage continues at BELLATOR 284 with the professional MMA debut of Pat Downey III.

Downey, 29, is a decorated wrestler whose accolades include an NJCAA national title, NCAA Division I All-American honors, and medals at the Pan-American Games, U.S. National Championships, Junior World Championships, and Big 12 Championships.

The burgeoning prospect joins the Bellator middleweight division with high expectations and much fanfare.

American Top Team staple Said Sowma, 30, has faced a veritable murderers’ row of opponents despite only turning pro in 2018. Inside the Bellator cage, Sowma has impressed fight fans by dispatching of more credentialed foes in former champion Vitaly Minakov and the veteran Ronny Markes.

Against Saricam, Sowma will look to rebound from a split-decision loss to undefeated #8-ranked contender Davion Franklin at BELLATOR 274 in February. No. 10-ranked Gokhan Saricam, meanwhile, enters the fight with Sowma on the strength of three straight wins under the Bellator MMA banner.

The 31-year-old has displayed a strong killer instinct during his time inside the Bellator cage, scoring two first-round knockouts via ground-and-pound in his three victories. Saricam is a teammate of the legendary Gegard Mousasi.

Originally slated to compete as part of the incredible Bellator bantamweight World Grand Prix tournament as a title- and $1,000,000-prize hopeful, Canada’s Josh Hill will look to prove he’s still right in the thick of things among the bantamweight division’s elite with a bout against Matheus Mattos at BELLATOR 284.

The 35-year-old has won three of his four Bellator matchups in convincing fashion, dropping his lone loss to interim champion Raufeon Stots by decision at BELLATOR 258 last May. The No. 9-ranked Hill seeks to ride the momentum from a vicious second-round KO of Jared Scoggins at BELLATOR 272 that initially prompted his inclusion in the bantamweight World Grand Prix.

Looking to insert himself into the conversation of Bellator bantamweight best is Brazil’s Matheus Mattos, 30. A veteran of the Russian and Brazilian MMA scenes, Mattos bounced back from a unanimous decision loss to bantamweight World Grand Prix semifinalist Magomed Magomedov in his Bellator debut with a thrilling second-round knockout of Cee Jay Hamilton at BELLATOR 262 in July 2021.

Mattos will look to earn the biggest victory of his professional career against Hill at BELLATOR 284, proving that he belongs among the division’s finest by defeating one of them.

BELLATOR 284: GRACIE VS. YAMAUCHI

MAIN CARD on SHOWTIME

Friday — 9 p.m.

Welterweight Main Event: #5-Neiman Gracie (11-3) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (27-5)

Heavyweight Co-Main Event: #1-Valentin Moldavsky (11-2) vs. #5-Steve Mowry (10-0)

Flyweight Feature Bout: #4-Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-2) vs. Bruna Ellen (6-3)

Middleweight Bout: #2-Austin Vanderford (11-1) vs. #9-Aaron Jeffery (12-3)

PRELIMINARY CARD

BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV

6 p.m.

Heavyweight Bout: #9-Said Sowma (8-3) vs. #10-Gokham Saricam (7-1)

Bantamweight Bout: #9-Josh Hill (21-4) vs. Matheus Mattos (13-2-1)

Flyweight Bout: #6-DeAnna Bennett (12-7-1) vs. #8-Justine Kish (8-5)

Bantamweight Bout: Jared Scoggins (10-2) vs. Sarvadzhon Khamidov (13-0)

Middleweight Bout: Pat Downey III (0-0) vs. Jeff Souder (2-2 am.)

Heavyweight Bout: Bailey Schoenfelder (2-0) vs. Mark Currier (1-1)

Bantamweight Bout: Mitchell McKee (2-0) vs. Tony Ortega (5-4)

Card subject to change

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