The Hawaiian Yancy Medeiros gets his wish as he will take on Emmanuel Sanchez in front of his home crowd at Bellator 279.
Yancy Medeiros to Face Emmanuel Sanchez in His Backyard
The matchup was first reported by MMA Junkie as is set to take place Saturday, April 23 at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu as a part of the second installment of Bellator’s doubleheader. Bellator 278 takes place a day before in the same location with both main cards being broadcast on Showtime.
A former UFC fighter, Medeiros was campaigning for a fight in his home state since promotion announced its 2022 return to Hawaii. Bellator president, Scott Coker was hesitant to ask the question about the possibility of booking Medeiros on one of two Hawaiian events. Fortunately for “The Kid”, a deal has been done.
The Hawaiian fighter and Coker are no strangers to one another as Medeiros fought for Strikeforce. After Coker’s former promotion was defunct, he made the jump to the UFC, where he stacked up 6 wins and 8 losses with those being his only defeats in his MMA career. After being cut by the UFC as a result of his four-fight losing streak, Medeiros looks to change his luck inside a circular cage at Bellator 279.
Emmanuel Sanchez is a two-time Bellator title challenger who also looks to bounce back in the midst of his three-fight losing streak. During his eight year stint with the promotion, Sanchez has fought notable fighters such as: Pat Curran, Daniel Weichel, Daniel Straus, Patricio Freire, Jeremy Kennedy, and Mads Burnell, with the last three contributing to his current losing streak.
Bellator 279 lineup presents itself as follow:
Sergio Pettis vs. Raufeon Stots – Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal and Bantamweight title fight.
Cris Cyborg vs. Arlene Blencowe – for Bellator Women’s Featherweight Title
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Patchy Mix – Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal
Justine Kish vs. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane
Yancy Medeiros vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
Main Photo:Embed from Getty Images
