Combate Global will make history in “The Sunshine State” by staging a one-night, eight-man mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament in the men’s bantamweight division on Sat., May 29 on Univision at 11 p.m. ET/PT and TUDN USA at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT in the United States from the Univision studio in Miami.
The show will also air in Mexico on both Televisa Nueve and TUDN MX on a 30-minute delay, beginning at 10:30 p.m. local time.
“The eight-man tournament is how I launched the UFC, and it is one of the ways that Combate has distinguished itself from other MMA organizations,” said Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren. “Only Combate does a one-night tournament, which is considered the toughest event in sports. The challenge for the athletes is not just the extraordinary physical challenge of three fights in one night, but also the incredible mental challenge of facing three different opponents in one night.”
The eight-man tournament field will consist of four fighters from Mexico and four fighters from the United States.
Mexico tournament bracket:
David “The Black Spartan” Martinez (3-1) vs. Eduardo “El Pube” Alvarado Osuna (9-6)
Ernesto “Stallion” Ibarra (5-0) vs. Alan “Beche” Cantu (8-6)
United States tournament bracket:
Manny Vazquez (12-3) vs. Nohelin ‘Suave” Hernandez (10-4)
Francisco “Cisco” Rivera, Jr. (12-7) vs. Adam “The American Bully” Martinez (7-2)
The winners of the quarterfinal stage bouts in each bracket will meet each other in the semifinals. That winner will represent his respective country and face off in the championship stage of the bantamweight tournament.
Tournament reserve bouts:
USA: Hector “El Matador” Fajardo (4-0) vs. Leodegario “The Mexicutioner” Muniz (4-1)
Mexico: Rodrigo Garcia (3-1) vs. Alex “Coyote” Gonzalez (3-2)
Reserve winners will fight for the right to replace an injured or disqualified tournament competitor. Quarterfinal stage bouts will consist of one, five-minute round, while semifinal and championship bouts will feature three, three-minute rounds.
In a non-tournament action Karen Cedillo (4-2) of Monterrey battles Camila Rivarola (3-2-1) of Stockholm at a catchweight of 118 pounds.
The May 29 tournament marks the second of four Combate Global tentpole events this year.