Donald Cerrone vs. Yancy Medeiros slated to headline UFC Austin

A popular veteran with a long-established reputation for exciting scraps will tangle with a competitor fresh off one of 2017’s most exciting bouts.

A welterweight match between Donald Cerrone and Yancy Medeiros is all but official for the UFC Austin main event on Feb. 18, sources told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Tuesday.

Cerrone (32-10, 1 NC) has dropped three consecutive fights after winning his first four at 170 pounds. His most recent fight was a first-round knockout loss to Darren Till at UFC Gdansk on Oct. 21.

Medeiros (15-4, 1 NC), meanwhile, is just starting to come into his own. The Waianae, Hawaii native won a thrilling, back-and-forth brawl against Alex Oliveira at UFC 218 via third-round TKO. That gave Medeiros three straight victories and four in his past five fights.

Medeiros earned a Fight of the Night bonus for the bout with Oliveira, his third postfight bonus in his past four fights and fifth overall. Cerrone has 18 bonuses between the UFC and WEC, the most combined bonuses in company history.