Combate Americas 8-man 100k tournament fighters announced
COPA COMBATE has assembled a collection of the most fearsome 135 stars from the USA, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, and Peru.
While not every fighter follows the pattern, there are distinctive “flavors” of mixed martial arts. There is the wrestling heavy American/UFC approach to the sport. There is a more ground-oriented game from Brazil. Japanese fighters are renowned for attempting submissions from anywhere. And Hispanic fighters across combat sports have a proud, gritty, technical, unyielding style of fighting that lies at the heart of Combate Americas.
Going head to head with the UFC has proven to be a terrific way to make a small fortune, by starting with a large one. However, it’s a big world. ONE Championship is thriving in Asia. Invicta FC is working wonders with women-only cards. And Combate Americas is set to dominate the Hispanic market.
On November 11 the promotion will hold a one-night, 8-man tournament in Cancun, Mexico. Take a tested MMA fighter, and you had a tough man, who thrills to throw down for the crowd. Then make him Hispanic, and he gets tougher still. Then have him representing his country, and it reaches the next level. Then make the fight for a life-changing $100,000.
Expect the best night of FIGHTS of the year at COPA COMBATE, announced by Combate Americas and Telemundo Deportes at a news conference in the Wynwood district of Miami. The landmark partnership will produce the first-ever Telemundo broadcast of the live mixed martial arts event. It will take place on November 11 at 11:30 p.m. ET/ 8:30 p.m. PT, live from Cancun, Mexico.
The historic, 90-minute live broadcast on Telemundo will coincide with the 24th anniversary of the now legendary UFC 1, which was executive produced by UFC co-founder and Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren. UFC 1 too was headlined by a one-night, eight-man tournament.
We are incredibly excited to partner with Telemundo Deportes and to bring back to life, live on Telemundo, the leading U.S. broadcast television network, the most thrilling format for competitive fighting that was responsible for changing the combat sports world forever when I introduced the UFC in 1993, said McLaren.
Telemundo Deportes is committed to continue expanding its portfolio of sports events, and we are thrilled to partner with Combate Americas to bring this unique MMA tournament to millions of Hispanic viewers, said Ray Warren, president of Telemundo Deportes. Copa Combate is a tournament created for our core audience featuring an exciting format and a diverse group of Hispanic competitors, and we look forward to an historic broadcast.
COPA COMBATE will assemble a collection of the most fearsome stars in the bantamweight division, hailing from the USA, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, and Peru, and will see them battle in La Jaula, the Combate Americas competition cage:
John ‘Sexy Mexy’ Castaneda • Mankato, Minnesota, USA
Marcelo ‘Pitbull’ Rojo • Cordoba, Argentina
Carlos ‘Lobo’ Rivera • Mexico City, Mexico
Mikey ‘El Terrible’ Erosa • San Juan, Puerto Rico
Marc ‘Lufo’ Gomez • Barcelona, Spain
Andres ‘Doble A’ Ayala • Bogota, Colombia
Kevin ‘El Frio’ Moreyra • Lima, Peru
Ricky ‘El Gallero’ Palacios • Mission, Republic of Texas
The eight competitors will be separated into four tournament brackets, with the top four fighters given seeded positions based on their worldwide rankings. Quarterfinal stage opponents for the four fighters will be determined based on a lottery ball drawing that will take place on a date to be announced.
Telemundo’s live broadcast of COPA COMBATE will feature the tournament’s semifinal stage consisting of two bouts that pit the winners of the quarterfinal stage bouts in each tournament bracket against one another. The entire quarterfinal stage of the tournament will stream live on the Telemundo Deportes En Vivo app and TelemundoDeportes.com.
Telemundo Deportes, one of the leading providers of sports content in Spanish in the United States, is home to two of the world’s most popular sporting events: the FIFA World Cup™ through 2026 and the Summer Olympic Games through 2032. In addition, Telemundo Deportes broadcasts the FIFA World Cup™ CONCACAF qualifying matches for most of the region, including the Mexico and USA national teams’ away matches and the Premier League. Telemundo Deportes is also home to Boxeo Telemundo Ford, the #1 boxing program in Spanish, and Titulares y Más, the #1 sports news, entertainment and commentary show in Spanish, among other recognized sports properties.