There’s no quit in Makaha’s Yancy Medeiros

Yancy Medeiros promises it’s not on purpose.

The Makaha native is in the main event of Sunday’s UFC Fight Night event in Austin, Texas, despite a 6-4 record in the UFC.

The move to welterweight two years ago has brought a three-game winning streak with it, but that’s not why he’s there.

Three of his last four fights have earned him either a performance or fight of the night bonus, including his third-round TKO of Alex Oliveira in December that won ESPN’s fight of the year honor.

Medeiros was violently knocked down twice in the first round and absorbed 93 significant strikes, mostly with his face.

Yet he came back to pull out the win in the third round of a fight that left the entire crowd in Detroit standing voicing its approval.

It was the latest in a string of entertaining fights that has Medeiros, who is ranked all the way down at No. 15 at 170 pounds, fighting in a main event.

“I tell everyone in all of the interviews that I’m not going out to show how tough I am by taking all of these beatings,” Medeiros said Thursday in a phone interview. “This is the fight game and things happen inside (the cage). I just don’t have that quitters’ mentality.”

Medeiros has fought 10 times in the UFC and absorbed a significant amount of damage over his career.

His first UFC fight ended by doctor’s stoppage and his last win at 155 pounds was in a fight against John Makdessi in which Medeiros’ opponent landed 114 significant strikes.

Five months after that bout, Medeiros absorbed another 117 significant strikes in the fight of the night at UFC 198 against Francisco Trinaldo in which Medeiros was pounded to the mat multiple times and fought to stand up only to crumble to the ground unable to support his own weight.

It was that fight that prompted Medeiros to make the move from lightweight to welterweight, and he’s been perfect since, notching three stoppage wins in the second round or later.

“I wake up not worrying about making weight anymore but about being the best Yancy Medeiros I can be,” he said. “My first fight at 170, I was telling my coaches I could really see the punches in there and even when I did get hit I could take them. I’m much more durable and I recover much quicker.”

Medeiros’ last two fights were on the undercard of an event headlined by featherweight champion Max Holloway.

Medeiros hoped that would continue until he was offered a main event spot opposite Cerrone, three weeks before Holloway was scheduled to defend his title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 222. (An injury forced Holloway to pull out of the fight.)

Medeiros and Holloway have gotten close over the past two years and Medeiros credits that relationship for his recent winning streak.

“Max is such a good example in so many ways,” Medeiros said. “He’s a perfect example of sticking to what you’re great at and not getting emotional in there.

“When my butt hits the ground, my first thought is always, ‘I’ve got to get you back,’ but that’s where you make mistakes. I’ve had to learn to stay calm and not go crazy in that cage when the fight is going on. Stick with the game plan. It’s something Max is so great at.”

Medeiros is often compared to Cerrone as one of the UFC’s most entertaining fighters.

Cerrone, ranked No. 11 at 170 pounds despite a three-fight losing streak to Jorge Masdvidal, Robbie Lawler and Darren Till, has won 18 bonuses in his 26 UFC fights.

His list of opponents over his 11-year career in the WEC and UFC includes names like Benson Henderson, Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis, Rafael Dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez and Matt Brown to name a few. He’s also challenged for a world title on four separate occasions.

“I’m just excited for the opportunity,” Medeiros said. “I focus on myself. It doesn’t matter who it is. I’m always looking for the kill and I’m training to be the best Yancy Medeiros anybody has seen yet.”

The fight will take place at approximately 6:30 p.m. Hawaii time.