Earlier this week, we learned that Hawaiian welterweight slugger Yancy Medeiros will return to the cage opposite a fellow action fighter in Mike Perry. The pair are scheduled to collide in the midst of International Fight Week, at UFC 226 on July 7.
On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Medeiros gave his initial thoughts on this matchup. Apparently, he’s looking at it the way most of us are. He thinks it’s going to be an incredible fight.
“That’s entertainment! Who doesn’t want to see that happen? Only the guy that wanted to fight Mike doesn’t want to see this,” Medeiros said, referencing Emil Meek, who agreed to fight Perry on Twitter.
“I mean, in general fans want to see that,” Medeiros continued. “They know what Mike is capable of doing. They know what I’m capable of doing. That’s just pure entertainment. That’s all it is. And I’m glad that UFC sees that. Cause they could give Mike Perry anybody. They could have gave me anybody. But why did they put me and Mike Perry on July 7? International Fight Week? Because they want a fight. Because they want entertainment. And I think that’s what they see in me. I feel like I bring that to the crowd. I bring that to my company. And I’ve seen the other fights getting booked too. [The card is] stacked. It’s getting stacked. It’s good fights. I like ’em.”
Perry will enter this fight on a tough, two-fight skid, having recently given up decisions to Max Griffin and Santiago Ponzinibbio. This skid was preceded by back-to-back knockout wins over Alex Reyes and Jake Ellenberger, a decision loss to Alan Jouban, and a pair of KO wins opposite Danny Roberts and Hyun Gyu Lim. Perry is 4-3 in the Octagon, and 11-3 overall.
Medeiros, meanwhile, is also in the loss column, having recently succumbed to a volley of first-round Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone punches. This loss was preceded by a trio of impressive wins: TKO victories over Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira and Erick Silva, and a submission defeat of Sean Spicer. Medeiros is 6-5 in the UFC, and 15-5 in sum.
Who do you think will come out on top when the cage door closes on Mike Perry and Yancy Medeiros?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/19/2018.