Bellator 284: Aaron Jeffrey Steps In, Faces Austin Vanderford

Aaron Jeffrey will meet Austin Vanderford next week at Bellator 284.

Jeffrey replaces Anthony Adams, who was forced out with an injury.

Bellator 284 features Neiman Gracie vs. Goiti Yamauchi on Friday, August 12. The event takes place from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, airing live on Showtime.

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 originally-scheduled foe Adams (9-2). 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.

Below is the current fight card:

BELLATOR 284: GRACIE VS. YAMAUCHI MAIN CARD:
SHOWTIME
Friday, August 12 — 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT

* 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 Main Card Bout: #4-Ilima-Lei MacFarlane (11-2) vs. Bruna Ellen (6-3)
* Heavyweight Main Card Bout: #9-Said Sowma (8-3) vs. #10-Gokhan Saricam (7-1)
* Middleweight Main Card Bout: #2-Austin Vanderford (11-1) vs. Aaron Jeffery (12-3)

BELLATOR 284: GRACIE VS. YAMAUCHI PRELIMINARY CARD:
BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV
6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT

* Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: #9-Josh Hill (21-4) vs. Marcos Breno (14-2)
* Flyweight Preliminary Bout: #6-DeAnna Bennett (12-7-1) vs. #8-Justine Kish (8-5)
* Light Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Sullivan Cauley (3-0) vs. Tyson Jeffries (14-11)
* Middleweight Preliminary Bout: Patrick Downey III (0-0) vs. Jeff Souder (0-0)
* Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Isaiah Hokit (1-1) vs. Nick Perez (0-0)
* Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Bailey Schoenfelder (2-0) vs. Mark Currier (1-1)
* Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Mitchell McKee (2-0) vs. Tony Ortega (5-4)
* 175-lb Contract Weight Amateur Bout: Brett Bye (1-0) vs. M, A, Yah II (4-0)