Yancy Medeiros vs Emmanuel Sanchez added to Bellator 279 on April 23 in Hawaii

Bellator MMA has signed former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight and Welterweight contender, Yancy Medeiros, to take on Emmanuel Sanchez at the upcoming Bellator 279 event, which is slated to go down on Sat., April 23, 2022 inside Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

A few days after Bellator announced its plans to return to Hawaii (read all about it here), Medeiros logged onto his Twitter account to make a case for the promotion to sign him in order to bring some local flavor to the event. “The Kid,” who was born in Wai’anae, Hawaii, and started his mixed martial arts (MMA) career under the Hawaii Fight League promotion back in 2007, eventually got his wish according to MMA Junkie.

Medeiros — who hasn’t competed in his homeland in over 10 years — was released by UFC in Aug. 2021 after ending his time with the promotion on a four-fight losing streak. Despite his woes, the Hawaiin-born scrapper was always a fan-favorite due to his push-the-pace style of fighting and is a welcomed addition to the Bellator family.

Sanchez, meanwhile, is currently on a three-fight skid himself, losing to former Featherweight champion Patricio Freire, Mads Burnell, and Jeremy Kennedy. Now, Sanchez will attempt to revive his combat career by giving Medeiros a rude welcome to the Bellator cage.

Bellator 279 will feature a Bantamweight title fight between division king Sergio Pettis and his longtime teammate, Raufeon Stots. The bout will also serve as one of the quarterfinal matchups to the promotion’s million-dollar Bantamweight Grand Prix. In the co-main event, Cris Cyborg defends her women's 145-pound title against Arlene Blencowe, while Hawaii’s own Ilima-Lei Macfarlane will face off against Justine Kish in women’s Flyweight action.

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