Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
UNDEFEATED RAFA “GIFTED” GARCIA PUTS HIS TITLE ON THE LINE AGAINST 2019 “COPA COMBATE” TOURNAMENT CHAMPION HUMBERTO BANDENAY
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
NEW YORK – January 6, 2019 – Combate Americas today announced its return to Mexicali, B.C., Mexico with a colossal world lightweight (155 pounds) championship main event showdown between undefeated, reigning kingpin Rafa “Gifted” Garcia (11-0) and 2019 “COPA COMBATE” one-night, eight-man tournament champion Humberto Bandenay (18-7, 1 NC), on Friday, Feb. 21, 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).
Priced from MX $200, tickets for the Combate Americas world championship event at Auditorio del Estado are on sale at ZonaTicket.mx.
“This is arguably the single biggest fight in Combate Americas history between two young, rival superstars in what has become one of our strongest and most competitive weight divisions,” said Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren, who continued, “Rafa is a homegrown talent that we have proudly built from upstart to world champion and Humberto is coming off a spectacular victory of the most prestigious, one-night tournament in sports. It is going to be an electric night.”
A native of Mexicali, the 25-year-old Garcia has been tearing through his competition since making his professional debut in 2015 and, in his last start on September 20, was crowned a world champion for the first time after earning a hard-fought, unanimous decision over Erick “The Ghost Pepper” Gonzalez.
Garcia’s initial rise in 2017 caught the attention of MMA superstar Cub Swanson, who has since become head trainer and mentor to Garcia.
Also 25 years of age, Bandenay of Lima, Peru is coming off a stellar showing in the third annual, year-end “COPA COMBATE” one-night, eight-man tournament that took place in his hometown on December 20.
Bandenay, a hard-hitting finisher who has earned 13 of his 15 career victories to date by way of (T)KO or submission, made his Combate Americas debut in the “COPA COMBATE” tournament, defeating Hugo Prada of Colombia in the quarterfinal stage of the single-elimination event before scoring a thunderous, second round (1:14) TKO (punches) on Jose Luis Verdugo of Mexico in the semifinal round of battle.
In the championship stage of action, Bandenay faced off with and defeated Garcia’s former championship adversary, Gonzalez of the U.S., to earn the tournament’s $100,000 grand prize.
Additional bouts for the Combate Americas world championship event will be announced soon.
Doors for the event will open at 6 p.m. local time, and the first preliminary bout will begin at 7 p.m.
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.
About AXS TV
AXS TV is a leading music, entertainment, sports and lifestyle U.S. cable network in 50 million homes controlled by Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc., and originally founded by entrepreneur Mark Cuban. AXS TV’s programming appeals to an impassioned fanbase, delivering eclectic content in a wide variety of areas including music performances, celebrity interviews, pop culture, combat sports, and professional wrestling. The channel is the home of IMPACT Wrestling, one of the world’s largest entertainment properties, and the English-language broadcasts of the top Hispanic MMA promotion Combate Americas; as well as original programming featuring legendary newsman Dan Rather; music icon Sammy Hagar; and music virtuoso Paul Shaffer, among many others. AXS TV is currently available nationally in the United States and parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. For a list of providers, visit axs.tv/subscribe. For more information, see www.axs.tv. Press information is available at axstvmediacenter.com.
About TUDN
TUDN is the multimedia sports division of Univision Communications Inc., the leading Hispanic media company in the U.S. Built around the flagship TUDN cable network, the nation’s No. 1 Spanish-language sports channel, TUDN reaches audiences across Univision’s television portfolio, as well as through the TUDN Radio Network, the TUDN mobile app and TUDN.com. TUDN possesses an industry-leading portfolio of live soccer rights through partnerships with 14 Liga MX clubs, the Mexican Football Federation, US Soccer, UEFA, Concacaf, Major League Soccer, Bundesliga and many more. Visit TUDN.TV for more information.
