Combate Americas: Marroquin vs. Alday gets new co-main, 6 more fights
A new women’s flyweight co-main event – Tracy Cortez vs. Karen Cedillo – and six new bouts featuring fighters representing five different countries, were announced for Combate Americas: Marroquin vs. Alday on Friday, Sept. 14.
Combate Americas today announced a new women’s flyweight co-main event – Tracy Cortez vs. Karen Cedillo – and six new bouts featuring fighters representing five different countries, for the premier Hispanic MMA franchise’s world championship event in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 14, live on both Univision (12 a.m. ET/PT) and Univision Deportes Network (UDN) (12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT).
The unbeaten, 29-year-old Cedillo of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico will replace Brandi Narvaez, who was originally slated to face off with Cortez of Phoenix, but was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
In the previously announced, world championship bantamweight main event, Monterrey’s Levy Saul Marroquin, the winner of the inaugural, 2017 COPA COMBATE one-night, eight-man, $100,000 grand prize tournament, will collide with fellow star Jose “Pochito” Alday of Tucson, Ariz. via Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
Among the other new fights announced today for the Combate Americas: Marroquin vs. Alday world championship event that will take place at Celebrity Theatre were a featured, live televised lightweight contest between undefeated, rising star and Cub Swanson protege Rafa “Gifted” Garcia and LaRue “The Cannibal” Burley.
The 5-foot-7, 25-year-old Garcia of Palm Springs, Calif., USA by way of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, has been on a tear since he made his professional debut nearly four years ago, defeating all but one of his opponents via T/KO or submission.
Burley, a 5-foot-10, 34-year-old, seasoned competitor who hails from Phoenix, has faced off with top-level adversaries, and is best known for his upset, third round (3:40) TKO (knee strike to the body and punches) of 2011 NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and previously undefeated MMA prospect Bubba Jenkins on Sept. 20, 2013.
Also announced today was a featherweight (preliminary bout card contest between two unbeaten prospects – Tino Gilaranz of Madrid, Spain and Austin Wourms of Phoenix.
In a 140-pound catchweight matchup on the undercard, Roman “El Gallito” Salazar of Mammoth, Ariz., USA will return to La Jaula, the Combate Americas cage, for the second time in his career, to face Eduardo “El Pube” Alvarado of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.
Another featherweight scrap will see Javier “Blair” Reyes Rugeles of Bogota, Colombiá square off with “Magic” Mike Hamel of Gilbert, Ariz., USA.
In flyweight action, undefeated, rising star Richard Palencia of Mesa, Ariz. will take on Federico “The Argentinian Ninja” Oliveira of Mendoza, Argentina.
Battle-tested veterans Yaotzin Meza of Glendale, Ariz., USA and Gilbert Aguilar of Phoenix by way of Mexico City, Mexico will collide at featherweight.
Additional preliminary bout matchups for Combate Americas: Marroquin vs. Alday will be announced soon.
Priced from $30, tickets for “Combate Americas: Marroquin vs. Alday” are on sale at CelebrityTheatre.com and Ticketon.com. Doors at Celebrity Theatre open at 6 p.m. PT, with the first preliminary bout will beginning at 7 p.m.