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The Latinas of Combate Global set for world domination
Expectations in women’s MMA are higher than ever and the Latinas of Combate Global are taking those expectations and smashing them. The sheer hunger these athletes show and the ferocity in which they execute their game-plans is unrivalled in any promotion, which is why today, well be looking at some of Combate’s killer Latinas and their feats inside the cage!
Combate Global CEO & UFC co-creator Campbell McLaren is always glowing with praise for his Latinas: ”Combate’s most exciting division is the women’s 115 pound division — they are all killers”. A statement that proves true with fans after the success of Combate’s historic all female event ”Combate: Latinas” which pulled the most viewers for an all female MMA event in history.
Ranging from World Muay Thai Champions, boxers and even professional wrestlers these are the Latinas of Combate Global.
Claudia Diaz
Claudia Diaz is a former WMC World Champion back in 2019 and trains at the world renowned Tiger Muay Thai facility in Phuket, Thailand. The Argentinian-Spanish fighter competed in ONE Championship’s Warrior Series before taking a two year break and joining the Combate Global family. Diaz made her promotional debut at the end of April and to say she impressed would be an understatement!
Facing Dulce ‘Sexy Star’ Garcia, Diaz was able use Muay Thai expertise to control the distance and land the heavier shots. Garcia’s constant pressure caused problems throughout for the Muay Thai World Champion, but a failed takedown gave Diaz the advantage to rain down strikes from top position causing the referee to wave off the contest. One explosive performance in and Combate fans are craving for more action, luckily they won’t be disappointed as Claudia Diaz returns to the Combate Global cage June 25th, with an opponent set to be announced soon.
Yasmine Jauregui
Unbeaten in her professional career so far, 22 year old Yasmine Jauregui is one of the hottest talents at 115lbs in women’s MMA. Excelling on the feet and on the ground, Jauregui caused waves through the MMA community when she made light work of opponent Benni Fuentes in her professional MMA debut. Jauregui quickly caught the attention of Combate Global and signed with the promotion to fight Daniela Espinosa at Combate 36. As promotional debuts go, Yasmine Jauregui could not have wished for a better one. Defeating her opponent in just 13 seconds of the first round by knockout!
Yasmine Jauregui 
Jauregui vs Yaijara Romo
She impressed again only two months later as she faced off against McKenna Mitchell and put on a striking clinic causing the ringside doctor to stop the fight in between rounds two and three. Only three months later, Yasmine Jauregui was back in action at Combate 44 against her toughest opponent to date Yaijara Romo. After a back and forth war Jauregui would eventually end up having her hand raised in victory! Her most previous bout was in Mexican promotion UWC where she dismantled her opponent in the very first round causing the fight to be stopped by the doctor at the end of round one. Luckily fans will get to see Yasmine Jauregui June 18th, so mark the date down in your calendars for guaranteed fireworks!
Lucero “La Loba” Acosta
Training under Team United MMA, Lucero Acosta wowed audiences at Combate 36 when she got a surprising TKO finish in her Amateur debut. ”La Loba” would go on to make her pro-MMA debut only six months later defeating Valerie Quintero via unanimous decision at Combate 46.
Acosta would get caught out with a rear-naked choke in her second bout with the promotion only to return in 2021 and put the world on notice with a brutal victory over Allysen Breeden! Despite starting off strong, keeping Acosta on the back foot and throwing heavy strikes in volume, ”La Loba” lands a nice jab-cross combination before unloading on her opponent with fierce tenacity!
The roar of victory echoed throughout the Univision studios and come July 2nd, ”La Loba” will roar again as she steps back in the Combate Global cage. Who would you like to see Lucero Acosta face in her return?
Criszaida Adames
Ranked at #19 in the United States women’s pound-for-pound rankings, New Jersey’s Criszaida Adames should be on every MMA fans watch list. Going 4-0 as an amateur Adames was hailed as one to watch as she started her professional MMA career and watch they did as she cruised to a second round KO. Only a month later from her successful debut, she was in the Combate cage showcasing her talents in a fantastic unanimous decision victory over Alma Cespedes.
Unfortunately her next fight on Combate against Desiree Yanez was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Adames however was given the opportunity to fight on UFC Fight Pass with the promotion CFFC and yet again, put on a show submitting Claudia Baril by rear-naked choke! With hype rapidly building around Adamaes, Combate gave her the well deserved headlining spot on their history making all-female card back in April and as expected, she did not disappoint.
Facing one of her toughest challenges yet in the form of Karen Cedillo, Criszaida battled to a decision victory in what was a fight of the night performance from both athletes. We’re yet to hear of a return date for Criszaida Adames with her competing so recently, leaving fans to ponder which one of the Latinas she will return to face.
Caroline Gallardo
Chile’s own Caroline ”Taz” Gallardo has more heart than most making her a formidable foe for anyone of the Latinas on the Combate Global roster! Despite losing her first two fights in her pro-MMA career, Gallardo bounced back emphatically, going on a three fight finishing streak which cemented her place within the promotion. However her first test in the Combate cage would not be an easy venture as she would face the undefeated Melissa Martinez.
Both fighters looked good in the opening round, making it a hard call for the judges to pick a clear winner. Early in the second however, a failed takedown attempt allowed Martinez to capitalise and win the fight via a nasty knee to the head with follow up punches. ”Taz” would not be disheartened by this, in fact she would grow because of it putting on a phenomenal display only seven months later against Corina Herrera, defeating her by Unanimous decision.
Dulce Garcia
From professional wrestling to boxing and finally mixed martial arts, Dulce ‘Sexy Star’ Garcia has done it all! After a phenomenal pro-wrestling career, Garcia decided to leave her luchadora mask behind and throw herself into the world of combat sports. Firstly she tackled boxing and in just over a year went on an impressive unbeaten run of 5-0 before declaring her desire to compete in MMA.
After negotiating a deal with Combate Global back in February 2019, Garcia was quick to make her pro-MMA debut only two months later in May against Mariana Ruiz Avila, which ‘Sexy Star’ went on to win via unanimous decision. Returning to the cage on the highly anticipated Combate 51: Tito vs Alberto card, she impressed once again dominating and submitting Anali Lopez in the first round of their contest. Unfortunately, she tasted defeat when she faced Claudia Diaz with a failed takedown sealing her own fate, but her performances within the Combate Global cage speak for themselves and fans can expect to see ‘Sexy Star’ in another battle very soon!
You simply cannot deny the level of talent Combate possess in the 115lb division and after speaking with Combate’s Senior Vice President of Communications and Operations Mike Afromowitz, fans can feel more reassured than ever that the promotion won’t be slowing down in terms of building their 115lb division: “We are building the most exciting 115 pound division in the world and, by the end of the year, I predict we will have it.”
A strong prediction and one that is certainly not out of reach as Combate Global regularly rank the second highest viewed MMA promotion in North America, ahead of Bellator, ONE and PFL. With a difficult 2020 behind us, audiences are excited for what 2021 may bring. Another Latinas event? One night tournament? Nothing would be come as a surprise!
“The Iron Man’s” next fight in ONE Championship is confirmed, and it’ll be under kickboxing rules.
For the first time since January 2023, ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon will lace up the big gloves for a battle with Denis Puric at ONE 167: Stamp vs. Zamboanga on Saturday, 8th June, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Impact Arena.
Rodtang last competed at ONE Friday Fights 34 in September, where he suffered his first promotional loss in ONE’s striking ranks in a Muay Thai super-fight with flyweight kickboxing king Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Fortunately for the legendary Thai, his gold wasn’t up for grabs that evening as Superlek missed weight. But the pair delivered an iconic clash that rocked the combat sports world nonetheless, with Rodtang missing out by unanimous decision.
“The Iron Man” has been sidelined with a hand injury since then, and he was forced to pull out of his highly anticipated match with Takeru Segawa in his backyard in Tokyo earlier this year as a result.
However, all looks well for him to return in June, and fans are excited to see Puric get the dream fight he’s always wanted.
“The Bosnian Menace” has been amassing momentum in ONE Championship recently.
After quashing Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat’s comeback in December 2023, he scored a dynamic victory over former #2-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender Jacob Smith at last month’s ONE Fight Night 21 to usurp the Brit’s position.
All the while, Puric has been calling out Rodtang and claiming that he would face him in any discipline.
Now, he gets his wish, and it will be fascinating to see how his never-back-down approach fares against the aggression of “The Iron Man” at ONE 167 on 8th June.
Manchester’s Brendan Loughnane is coming into the 2024 PFL regular season with a point to prove after what many would call a shock, disappointing showing last year.
The PFL thought they had struck gold when they signed Brendan Loughnane straight off the back of his infamous appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series. Coming in with proven ability and a name value in the UK which they had not had until that point, they were right. He made it to the playoffs in 2021, his debut season, narrowly falling in the semi-finals to Movlid Khaybulaev via a split decision.
The following season was where the Featherweight really showed his ability. Two unanimous decision victories took him through the regular season relatively scot-free. A heated semi-final showdown against Chris Wade at London’s Copper Box Arena was next. Wade had lost in the playoffs three seasons in a row, and 30-27 scorecards across the board made that four, and moved Loughnane through to the final for $1m.
It was to be another man competing in his second season, Bubba Jenkins, standing in the way of that cheque. The iconic Theater at Madison Square Garden was the setting for the final, which proved to be the perfect moment for Loughnane to pick up his first finish of the season. In a fight he was clearly leading, a straight right from Loughnane made Jenkins do the splits in the middle of the SmartCage. A few punches on the ground followed by a knee to the chest was enough to make the Mancunian $1m richer.
As the newly minted 2022 PFL featherweight champion, Loughnane started the 2023 season strong, with a second round-TKO of former UFC contender Marlon Moraes earning him five points. A victory that put him, at that point, in good stead to make the playoffs for a third consecutive year. Then came the sophomore fight of the season, a fight in which he closed as a -800 favourite over Jesus Pinedo. What came next was the shock of the season.
Less than ninety seconds in the fight, the Peruvian landed a flush knee off of a clinch which dropped Loughnane seemingly out of nowhere, and four punches later it was over. The face of the 2022 season was not making the playoffs. Pinedo went on to win the season, and of course the $1m.
This gave Brendan Loughnane an elongated break, and in that time came a lot of change within the PFL. The acquisition of Bellator means new competition for the Mancunian, as well as the rest of the PFL roster, and that starts on Friday as he faces former Bellator title challenger Pedro Carvalho, in what is a big fight for the UK and Ireland market.
SBG Ireland’s “The Game”, makes his PFL debut, and along with his contemporaries from Bellator, has been a part of refreshing the PFL regular season roster which was at risk of becoming stale due to the small roster size leading to repeated matchups in the playoffs. Through eleven fights in Bellator, he fought the best that the organisation had to offer including Aaron Pico, Mads Burnell, and organisational GOAT Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, becoming one of the go-to names on their regular events in Dublin, which became a staple of the company over the last few years. A win for him over Loughnane will instantly ensure he is highly thought of in his new organisation and put him in a great position to make it to the playoffs at the first time of asking. As we learned last year however, all can change as the season goes on.
Despite the loss last season, Brendan Loughnane does not feel the pressure coming into the 2024 season. Speaking at media day this week, he said:
“I feel like the pressure’s off. I’ve got the title here, I’m the 2022 champion and I’m just coming here now out of choice and to have fun and I think that makes me very dangerous”.
Loughnane was able to see the positives of his shortened season in 2023.
“I was happy for the layoff. I’m the most experienced guy in my division now and Bubba [Jenkins] so I’ve been in this thing for so long that I didn’t know life outside of this for a while so it was nice to take care of a few things and reset”.
The co-main event tonight between Loughnane and Carvalho promises to be a fight of the night contender. Both men come to throw down every single outing and to many people, especially those on this side of the pond, this is the most anticipated matchup of the first round with whoever prevails putting themselves in a great position and taking that first step towards making the playoffs.
For a fighter to become the best, it helps to remain humble and focused. And if the opportunity to train with world-class athletes arises, they should grab it with both hands. Ahead of her return to ONE Championship next month, ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Smilla Sundell has been doing all that.
The Swedish striker is set to return in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22 on Saturday, 4th May, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, where she’ll defend her crown against Russian ruiner Natalia Diachkova.
Sundell has been dominant across four promotional outings. But she knows she’ll have her hands full with Diachkova, so she recently chose to take some tips from ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai.
“I did his seminar in Bangkok at PK Saenchai with my friend Matt. We went there and wanted to learn some new skills and see how he did seminars because I want to go to America after my fight to do seminars. I’ve done one now, and I like teaching, so it was fun,” Sundell said.
“There’s no competition in it. He’s like a cat playing with a rat. It’s too easy for him sometimes. He doesn’t even try.”
The strawweight Muay Thai queen sharpens her skills at the Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand, alongside other world-class striking talents, like three-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex.
Stamp’s fun-loving nature has rubbed off on Sundell, but it’s her commitment to never backing down that has truly inspired the 19-year-old sensation.
“She’s always been a happy girl and trains hard every day. She’s basically the same funny girl. Still hungry (to get wins),” Sundell explained.
“I think I learned that you can achieve whatever you like as long as you put in the work. But I learned that from my parents, too. But maybe more practical, in a sense, because Stamp did it in martial arts.”
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