UFC veteran Yancy Medeiros will make his Bellator debut on friendly territory.
Yancy Medeiros made a name for himself in the UFC over the past decade, with a flurry of exciting fights and an infectious personality. He was released from the promotion last August after 15 Octagon appearances.
After leaving the UFC, Medeiros signed with Bellator MMA. Recently the promotion revealed that Medeiros’ first fight will happen in his own backyard—Hawaii (per MMA Junkie).
Bellator’s return to Hawaii is scheduled for April 23. The event, Bellator 279, will take place at Honolulu’s Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.
At that event Medeiros is scheduled to meet perennial featherweight contender Emmanuel Sanchez, in a lightweight contest. The card is slated to be headlined by Bellator bantamweight champ Sergio Pettis defending his title against Raufeon Stotts in the first round of the promotion’s $1 million bantamweight grand prix.
The card also features a grand prix match-up between Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Patchy Mix. There’s also a featherweight title fight between champion Cris Cyborg and challenger Arlene Blencowe. Former champ, and Hawaiian fan-favourite, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is also on the card. She faces former UFC fighter Justine Kish.
Medeiros made his way to the UFC in 2013, as part of the Strikeforce purchase. He made his debut against Rustam Khabilov, which he lost due to a thumb injury.
In his second UFC bout he knocked out Yves Edwards. However, that bout was ruled a no contest after Medeiros tested positive for the no-longer banned substance marijuana. Medeiros’ best run in the UFC came in 2016-2017 when he took a three fight winning streak with a submission over Sean Spencer and then TKO wins against Erick Silva and Alex Oliveira.
Medeiros’ UFC tenure ended on the back of a four fight losing skid, with losses to Donald Cerrone, Gregor Gillespie, Lando Vannata and, finally, Damir Hadzovic at UFC Vegas 30 last June.