‘Copa Combate’ adds English language broadcast
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer this incredible event to both the Telemundo and NBCSN audiences in Spanish and in English, respectively.”
Combate Americas today announced the addition of an English-language telecast of Copa Combate, live on NBCSN from Cancun, Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 11:30 p.m. ET. The telecast will complement the live Spanish language broadcast of the historic event on NBCUniversal’s Telemundo network and marks the first time ever that two NBCU platforms will simulcast live MMA action.
Copa Combate will be headlined by an epic, one-night, eight-man bantamweight tournament that will award its winner a grand prize of $100,000. It takes place on the 24th anniversary of UFC 1, which was executive produced by UFC co-founder and Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren. UFC 1 was also headlined by a one-night, eight-man tournament.
We are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer this incredible event to both the Telemundo and NBCSN audiences in Spanish and in English, respectively, said McLaren. Copa Combate is the first event of its kind in the MMA fight world, so being able to serve the largest group of fans possible in the U.S. under the NBC umbrella is an honor.
We look forward to presenting Combate Americas’ unique brand of elite mixed martial arts to our viewers, said Jon Miller, President of Programming, NBC Sports Group.
The live simulcast of Copa Combate on Telemundo and NBCSN will feature the tournament’s semifinal stage consisting of two bouts that pit the winners of the quarterfinal stage matchups in each tournament bracket against one another, as well as the championship stage showdown.
In addition to the tournament action, Telemundo’s and NBCSN’s live television coverage of Copa Combate will feature the previously announced women’s strawweight co-main event between undefeated knockout artist Melissa ‘Super Melly’ Martinez of Mexico City, Mexico, and submission expert and Miesha Tate pupil Gloria ‘Gloriosa’ Bravo of Santiago, Chile.
The entire quarterfinal stage of the tournament, as well as two tournament alternate bouts and a second women’s bout that will be announced soon, will stream live on the Telemundo Deportes En Vivo app and TelemundoDeportes.com. Coverage on NBCSN will be live streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
The eight tournament competitors are as follows:
John ‘Sexi Mexi’ Castaneda (14-2) of Mankato, Minn.
Marcelo ‘Pitbull’ Rojo (12-4) of Cordoba, Argentina
Carlos ‘Lobo’ Rivera (10-2) of Mexico City, Mexico
Mikey ‘El Terrible’ Erosa (12-5) of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Marc ‘Lufo’ Gomez (20-10) of Barcelona, Spain
Andres ‘Doble A’ Ayala (11-4) of Bogota, Colombia
Kevin ‘El Frio’ Moreyra (4-1) of Lima, Peru
Ricky ‘El Gallero’ Palacios (9-1) of Mission, Texas
A lottery ball drawing to determine the quarterfinal stage matchups will take place on Thursday, Nov. 2.
