A New Chapter for Yancy Medeiros

Life outside of fighting could not be more peaceful for Yancy Medeiros.

Waking up in his native Hawaii with a newborn child by his side, he tries to make the most of this chapter in his personal and professional life. At age 36 and having spent more than 16 years as a mixed martial artist, Medeiros will return to the Bellator MMA cage to face Zhora Ayvazyan in a Bellator Champions Series 4 lightweight feature on Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. It serves as his first appearance since April 2023.

Medeiros recognizes he is no longer the same person he was 10 years ago. While his chosen vocation may require violent tendencies, he finds a deeper purpose in his work these days.

“I have my reality,” Medeiros said. “My views, my vision of things, are just so different. After COVID hit, I just saw so much chaos. There was so much chaos in between families and even in my personal life. I was like, ‘I really need to simplify things and get back to what really makes you happy.’ That’s where I am now with life. Being around family really matters. If anything happened to you today, where do you want to be? You want to be out and about or be with the people you love? There are two chapters in my life. The first one was I was living with my family. Now, I live for my family.”

Always one to hold his heritage in the highest regard, Medeiros still beams when he discusses what separates Hawaiian fighters from other cultures in combat sports.

“We just have that pride because we’re just a little island,” he said. “Before it was like, ‘We got to go out and represent and show the world that we can.’ Now, it’s like, ‘Yeah, we can. What’s up.’ Before, we had to leave home to go get the best training, and now, we can stay home and be together [and] grow together. That’s something I knew I was never going to not give because that’s what rooted me.”

Medeiros will turn 37 the day he fights Ayvazyan. Being able to do what he loves on a daily basis continues to fuel him.

“I know I can work hard to make money—anybody can do that—but to do what you want to do?” Medeiros said. “Whatever the situation, whatever it is, it’s because I want to do it. That’s what keeps me doing it. I’m a martial artist. I want to keep competing.”

Even with a stronger purpose to fight for his family and even though he finds himself in a peaceful place in his life and career, Medeiros plans to once again entertain when he steps back inside the Bellator cage.

“I’m there to entertain,” he said. “Sometimes, I get impatient with the fight because there’s not a lot going on, but that’s where I learned I’m an entertaining fighter. I’m here to fight. That’s the biggest thing I think I worked on—my patience. The plan is to be right there in his face and make sure this fight is not boring.”