COMBATE AMERICAS SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON FLYWEIGHT DIVISION
WITH ‘SUPERFLY’ AT TUCSON ARENA ON FRIDAY, MARCH 13,
LIVE ON UNIVISION, TUDN AND AXS TV IN THE U.S.,
TELEVISA CANAL 5 IN MEXICO
FLYWEIGHT MAIN EVENT:
JUAN “LEADFEATHER” PUERTA VS. IVAN “NINO DEMOLEDOR” LOPEZ
FLYWEIGHT CO-MAIN EVENT
GERMAN ORPINEDA PONCE VS. FEDERICO “THE FILIPINO FLASH” FLORES
FEATURED WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT BOUT:
MARIA FAVELA VS. MARIA DEL ROCIO VELAZQUEZ
PLUS: EIGHT PRELIMINARY BOUTS FEATURING
TUCSON’S MOST EXCITING TALENT, INCLUDING UNBEATEN LEVI ESCOBAR
AND SIBLINGS DORIAN RAMOS AND ANDY PEREZ
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Combate Americas announced IT will shine the spotlight on its burgeoning men’s and women’s flyweight (125 pounds) divisions with a collection of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bouts in this weight class when it returns to Tucson, Ariz. on Friday, March 13, live on television in the U.S. in Spanish on both Univision (12 a.m. ET/PT) and TUDN USA (12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT), and in English on AXS TV (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT), and in Mexico on Televisa Canal 5 (11 p.m. local time).
“Combate Americas: Superfly” will take place at Tucson Arena in the Tucson Convention Center, and be headlined by the promotional debut of world-ranked, former champion Juan “Leadfeather” Puerta (18-6), who will face off with fellow speedster Ivan “Nino Demoledor” Lopez (14-4-1).
Prided from $18, tickets go on sale tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. MT at Ticketmaster.com.
“The flyweight division is home to some of the most intense and fast-paced action in the sport, and one of our best assets, so it’s about time we dedicate the main card of our TV show to this group of men and women,” said Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren.
Fighting out of Miami, Fla., the 32-year-old Puerta, who recently signed an exclusive, multi-fight agreement with Combate Americas, is in the midst of a seven-fight win streak that began in 2017 and that includes four victories by way of (T)KO or submission.
To date, Puerta has notched 10 of his 18 career wins by way of submission and, in his last effort on October 19, 2019, the Colombian American who trains at American Top Team forced Reynaldo Adolfo to tap out from an armbar in the fourth round of battle.
Puerta will be faced with a seasoned battler in the 34-year-old Lopez, who hails from Tijuana, B.C., Mexico, and is a veteran of competition in the U.S., Brazil and Dominican Republic.
Lopez, who has earned 9 of his 14 career victories by way of (T)KO or submission will look to rebound from back-to-back defeats following a three-fight win streak.
The co-main event announced today will see undefeated (5-0) kickboxer German Orpineda Ponce (0-0) of Chihuahua, Mexico make his MMA rules debut against fellow striking sensation Federico “The Filipino Flash” Flores (1-1) of Phoenix, Ariz.
In a featured women’s flyweight contest, Maria Favela (0-0) of Tijuana will make her much-anticipated professional debut against unbeaten Muay Thai and grappling sensation Maria Del Rocio Velazquez (0-0) of Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
In undercard action announced today, Tucson siblings Dorian Ramos (0-0) and Andy Perez (7-11) will compete in separate bouts on the card.
The 26-year-old Ramos will make his debut as a professional in a featherweight (145 pounds) contest against unbeaten Ivan “The Titan” Tena (1-0) of Tucson.
Perez, a 31-year-old crowd pleaser, will square off with Tucson rival Jesus Rivas (2-3) in a bantamweight (135 pounds) contest.
Unbeaten, 23-year-old prospect Levi Escobar (1-0) of Tucson will return to action after an extended layoff due to injury, and face Steven Trevino (0-0) of El Paso, Texas at lightweight (155 pounds).
Also at lightweight, Alejandro Arredondo (4-4) will battle fellow Phoenix resident Derrick Brown (1-5).
Raymond Pina (9-4) will go to war with fellow Tucson resident James Cannon (7-4) in a welterweight (170 pounds) scrap.
Elsewhere on the undercard, unbeaten Bruce Xavier (1-0) of Phoenix will face Michael Tovar (0-1) of El Paso via Medellin, Colombia at middleweight (185 pounds).
Another featherweight tilt will see Arturo “Chucky” Guzman (2-3) meet Roberto Romero (1-2) of El Paso.
In the sole amateur matchup that will take place on the card, Leslie Hernandez (1-0) of Phoenix will face off with Jharely Reyes (0-0) of Phoenix in a 113-pound catchweight meeting.
ABOUT COMBATE AMERICAS
Combate Americas is the premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise, rapidly becoming the number two sport after soccer, for Spanish speaking fans worldwide. The Combate Americas franchise includes live event and original shoulder programming on some of the biggest television, OTT and digital platforms in Spanish and English, including Univision, Televisa, TUDN, AXS TV, GOL and Facebook Watch worldwide. The company also owns and operates a multi-platform media studio, La Jaula Studios.
Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren, also the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), has been described by New York Magazine as “the marketing genius behind the UFC,” while Yahoo Sports has said he “knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today.” With an unprecedented and cutting edge product and a blue-chip ownership and management team, Combate Americas is poised to break new ground and bring about a new era in world championship level MMA competition.
