Yancy Medeiros gets hometown fight, will fight Emmanuel Sanchez in Hawaii at Bellator 279

Yancy Medeiros has signed with Bellator to fight at home in Hawaii.

Medeiros was released from the UFC last year after a four-fight losing streak and he said he wanted to sign with Bellator to fight in Hawaii in April. Scott Coker said he did have some interest in making it happen, and now according to MMAJunkie, the Hawaiian has signed with Bellator and will face Emmanuel Sanchez who’s moving up to lightweight at Bellator 279 on Saturday, April 23. Bellator 278 goes down the night prior as the promotion returns to Hawaii for the first time since 2019.

Yancy Medeiros (15-8 and one No Contest) is on a four-fight losing streak and last fought back in June of 2021 as he suffered a decision loss to Damir Hadzovic. Also on the losing streak, he dropped a decision to Lando Vannata and suffered TKO loss to Gregor Gillespie in the second round and a first-round TKO loss to Donald Cerrone in his first and only UFC main event. The Hawaiian was in the UFC from 2013 to 2021 and went 6-8 and one No Contest while he holds notable wins over John Makdessi, Erick Silva, Alex Oliveira, and Damon Jackson. Before signing with the UFC he fought for Strikeforce and worked with Coker.

Emmanuel Sanchez (20-7) is on a three-fight losing streak and coming off a decision loss to Jeremy Kennedy back in December. Prior to that, he dropped a decision to Mads Burnell and was submitted by Patricio Pitbull in the semi-finals of the featherweight grand prix. The bout was also a title fight as Pitbull was the champ at the time. Sanchez will be moving up to lightweight for the first time in Bellator. He’s been in Bellator since 2014 and is 12-6 in the promotion with notable wins over Daniel Pineda, Daniel Straus, Daniel Weichel, and Sam Sicilia, among others.

With the addition of Medeiros vs. Sanchez, Bellator 279 is as follows: