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Combate Global Returns To Paramount+, Beginning This Saturday
Combate Global and Paramount+ today announced a new time slot – Saturday nights – for the premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise’s events, beginning March 11, streaming live on Paramount+ (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).
Combate Global’s move to Saturday nights comes during the 30th year anniversary of the sport of MMA that Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren started as co-founder of the original Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
In addition, Combate Global announced that veteran announcer Jimmy Smith, Jr. will serve as play-by-play commentator for the live events on Paramount+ for the entirety of 2023.
“It is a very meaningful year for MMA, entering its 30th year anniversary as a sport and, to celebrate, Combate Global is coming out of the gates swinging, with a phenomenal new time slot on Saturday nights and, of course, ‘Much More Action’!,” said McLaren.
Headlining the first event of the year will be a Mexico vs. USA collision between two grappling aces, Alejandro Gavidia (4-2) and Justin “Slick J” Vazquez (9-2). The main event will be contested at a catchweight of 152 pounds.
Gavidia of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico, is a decorated, four-time national champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a brown belt in the martial arts discipline.
In his last start on August 26, 2022, Gavidia scored a first round (3:11) TKO (punches) on Kevin Arreola.
Vazquez of Miami, Fla. will seek his fifth consecutive victory when he squares off with Gavidia.
With a mix of what Vazquez describes as ‘Cuban-style Karate, slick wrestling, kickboxing and submission grappling’, Vazquez, a member of Miami’s Freedom Fighters MMA fight team, has become a bonafide force in the sport.
Neither Gavidia nor Vazquez have ever been knocked out.
In a women’s catchweight (110 pounds) co-main event, Irene “La Niña” Cabello Rivera (9-6) will return to Combate Global action for the first time since 2019, to take on Jade “The Princess” Jorand (2-2).
Hailing from Barcelona, Spain, the 30-year-old Rivera has become re-focused on her MMA career, re-locating to Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico to train under the roof of famed coach Francisco Grasso that serves as home to a small legion of women’s MMA stars.
The 22-year-old Jorand of Bordeaux, France will look for her third consecutive victory after emerging victorious in both of her fights last year.
In a featured bantamweight (135 pounds) contest, Ismael “Kraken” Zamora (5-2) of Mexico City, Mexico will face off with Ramon “Wild Boy” Vizcarra (6-4) of Mexicali, B.C., Mexico.
The preliminary bout card on March 11 will be highlighted by a flyweight (125 pounds) matchup between Gaston “Cabeludo” Manzur (12-8) of Santiago, Chile and Chris Ocon (6-2) of Nashville, Tenn.
Leading off the card will be a bantamweight tilt between Mauricio “Puppy” Cubillo (10-7) of San Jose, Costa Rica and Alex “Coyote” Gonzalez (4-4) of Mexico City via Phoenix, Ariz.
News
UFC Vegas 91 – Results | Nicolau vs Perez
The UFC made their return to action last night, featuring a flyweight main event between top contender Matheus Nicolau and former title challenger Alex Perez.
For the full results, look no further!
Note: any point deductions will be denoted with an asterisk and explained at the bottom of the page.
***
Main card (12am GMT+1 – TNT Sports)
(#8) Alex Perez defeats (#5) Matheus Nicolau via knockout (punches – 2:16 – R2) – flyweight bout
Bogdan Guskov defeats (#11) Ryan Spann via TKO (punches – 3:16 – R2) – light heavyweight bout
(#13) Karine Silva defeats (#12) Ariane da Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) – flyweight bout
Jhonata Diniz defeats Austen Lane via knockout (punches – 2:12 – R2) – heavyweight bout
David Onama defeats Jonathan Pearse via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – featherweight bout
Uros Medic defeats Tim Means via TKO (punches – 2:09 – R1) – welterweight bout
Prelims (9pm GMT+1 – TNT Sports/UFC Fight Pass)
Victor Henry defeats Rani Yahya via TKO (head kick and punches – 2:36 – R3) – bantamweight bout
Austin Hubbard defeats Michal Figlak via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – lightweight bout
Don’Tale Mayes defeats Caio Machado via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – heavyweight bout
Ketlen Souza defeats Marnic Mann via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – strawweight bout
Chris Padilla defeats James Llontop via submission (rear-naked-choke – 4:33 – R1) – lightweight bout
Ivana Petrovic defeats Liang Na via submission (arm triangle – 1:29 – R3) – flyweight bout
Maheshate Hayisaer defeats Gabriel Benitez via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) – lightweight bout
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For more UFC content, stay tuned to Violent Money TV.
News
STYLEBENDER PRAISES POATAN
It seems Alex Pereira is on a lot of minds of late. His former nemesis ‘Stylebender’ Israel Adesanya has been speaking about him this week and, rather surprisingly, heaped praise on the Brazilian.
The pair have shared an intense rivalry throughout their respective kickboxing and mixed martial arts careers, with Pereira beating Adesanya three times before ‘The Last Stylebender’ finally got the edge over ‘Poatan’ in their last meeting a year ago.
Pereira won their first meeting in the kickboxing ring by decision back in 2016 and then knocked out Adesanya in a rematch eleven months later.
He then finished Adesanya in the fifth round at UFC 281 to claim the middleweight title in only his sixth professional MMA bout, before Adesanya reclaimed the belt a few months later with a devastating right hook.
Adesanya went on to lose the belt to Sean Strickland and has since been on a self imposed sabbatical from the sport. He was an interested spectator as Pereira moved up to the light heavyweight division, before winning and then defending the belt in that division too.
Speaking with former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson on his YouTube channel this week, Adesanya had nothing but praise for Pereira, and insists the Brazilian brings out the best in him:
“He’s a special fighter” said Adesanya. “He’s a special human being. What he’s done in this game, in fighting, and for his life as well, I’ll always respect him. I’m grateful for those moments because, for me, it taught me so much about myself and where I can go”.
Despite losing the first three fights in their series, Adesanya insists the fights were closer than that record suggests:
“First fight in China, I thought I won. These casuals don’t. These plebs don’t. I thought I won. Even he thought I won until he got his hand raised. Second fight, I’m beating his ass and he gets me. Again in New Your (UFC 281) I’m beating him. Rocked him, took him down, held him down, beat him and he gets me…I just knew that I can beat this guy”.
With Adesanya rumoured to be coming back to challenge Dricus Du Plessis for the 185lb title, and Alex Pereira seemingly looking upwards toward the heavyweight division for his next challenge, it seems the pair are out of each other’s crosshairs…for now at least.
News
JAMAHAL HILL WANTS REVENGE
Despite being just two weeks removed from his defeat to Alex Pereira in the main event at UFC 300, Jamahal Hill is climbing straight back on the horse and already has his next fight lined up. ‘Sweet Dreams’ is scheduled to face Khalil Roundtree Jr at UFC 303 on June 29th.
The card will be headlined by the long-awaited return of ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor, and Hill has elected to step straight back into fight camp rather than sit on the sidelines and recover from the devastating first round knockout he suffered at the hands of Pereira.
Rountree will be coming into this bout on a five-fight winning streak and has finished seven of his 9 UFC victories by knockout. Sitting at #8 in the UFC’s light heavyweight rankings, Rountree will surely see a victory over a former champion like Hill as a short cut to a title shot.
Given that Hill will likely have received a 60-day medical suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and there are only 77 days separating UFCs 300 and 303, there are certainly questions to be raised about the decision of Hill and his team to take this fight.
Hill explained in an interview with The Schmo that he sees the proximity of the two fights being a positive for his physical preparations, and that he is focused on avenging the loss to Pereira:
“I’m already in good shape” he explained. “I’m feeling good, heading into another camp just makes sense, I get to go into a camp in shape instead of going into camp off a layoff so I think that’ll be a huge plus and will help me go out and put on the performance I need to against Khalil Rountree to put myself back in position to get that Alex Pereira fight back.
“It’s about getting back to that fight, I want to fight Alex again just because of the narrative surrounding it ”
Hill originally won the 205lb title after defeating Pereira’s coach Glover Teixeira over five rounds at UFC 283 in January of 2023. He then ruptured his Achilles tendon last July and vacated the belt which Pereira won by beating Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 in November.
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