UFC 212's Yancy Medeiros in search of winning streak and some more cash

RIO DE JANEIRO – It’s not enough to be a company man in the UFC, or so Yancy Medeiros found out recently.

“I talked to the upper guys in the company, and (I told them) I’m a company man,” Medeiros, who faces Erick Silva in the pay-per-view opener of Saturday’s UFC 212, told MMAjunkie. “They said, ‘You’ve just got to build that win streak, Yance, and you’ll start making that money.'”

In other words, if you want to get paid like UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor, you’ve got to perform like McGregor. It’s simple advice, and Medeiros plans on following it. He doesn’t have to give up his affable personality. He can still be a company man.

“I want to win and represent my islands,” the 29-year-old Hawaii native said. “I’m a company man, and I fight for the fans. So I’m going to expect a real good fight Saturday – a barnburner, for sure.”

UFC 212 takes place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event’s main event features a featherweight title unifier between champ Jose Aldo and interim champ Max Holloway.

Luckily for Medeiros (13-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC), Silva (19-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) has had a few barnburners in his UFC tenure. Like Medeiros, he’s had some wild swings in career momentum, bouncing from hot prospect to struggling veteran over the past four years. But he’s never tried his hand in another weight division.

Medeiros began his UFC career as a lightweight after once fighting as high as light heavyweight. A residency with Nick and Nate Diaz acted as a weight loss program of sorts, prompting him to go down to 155 pounds. But the limit proved difficult to maintain. For a pivotal bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC Fight Night 68, he came in more than three pounds heavy and then lost a quick TKO. A meeting with Francisco Trinaldo at UFC 198 ended in a “Fight of the Night” bonus but also a unanimous decision loss.

In his previous fight, Medeiros made the move to 170 pounds and picked up another $50,000 with a second-round submission of Sean Spencer at UFC 203. The new weight class fit.

Now that Medeiros is competing where he feels strongest, he expects to put together the type of career-boosting streak that leads to big paydays.

“I could perform at an optimal level, and everybody is going to see the Yancy they see at the gym,” he said.

Watch the video above to hear more from Medeiros.

And for more on UFC 212, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.