LIVE ON AZTECA AMERICA AND ESPN LATIN AMERICA
ON THURSDAY, APERIRA 20
Undefeated welterweights Daniel Rodriguez and Joel Champion face off
Unbeaten Alesha Zappitella faces Stephanie Alba
in women’s atomweight matchup
Tickets for “Combate 13” on sale now
NEW YORK – April 6, 2017 – Combate Americas announced today the completion of a stacked, 10-fight lineup for its “Combate 13” Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Ariz. i runga i Rāpare, April 20, live on Azteca America and ESPN Latin America (10 p.m. AND).
Among the matchups added to finalize the card are a welterweight (170 pauna) showdown between a pair of undefeated, rising stars in Daniel Rodriguez (3-0) a Joel Champion (4-0), neither of whom have been taken the distance of a fight yet, as well as a women’s atomweight (105 pauna) contest between unbeaten sensation Alesha “Half Pint” Zappitella (2-0) and hard-nosed battler Stephanie “The Cyclone” Alba (3-1).
I roto i te whā (135 pauna) main event of “Combate 13,” accomplished veteran Roman “El Gallito” Salazar (10-5-1) of Scottsdale, Ariz. will collide with knockout artist Ricky "Te Gallero" Palacios (7-1) o te misioni, Texas.
“We have a fantastic lineup of fights assembled, and we are excited about bringing the Combate Americas live television series to Arizona for the first time ever,"Ka mea a Combate Americas Tumu Campbell McLaren.
Utu i $20, tickets for “Combate 13” are on sale at the Casino Del Sol box office (1-855-765-7829).
Ko te 6-waewae-1, 29-Rodriguez tau-tawhito, who recently signed an exclusive, multi-fight contract with Combate Americas, has notched all three of his professional wins to date inside of two rounds. In his last effort on January 21, the Alhambra, Calif. resident scored a second round (3:55) WHO (nifó) i runga i Christian Gonzalez.
Also 6-foot-1 and 29 tau o te ao, Champion of Tucson has not been pushed past the second round of a fight yet. In his last start on October 1, 2016, piro ia he tawhio tuatahi (4:13) knockout on Chris Collins.
Zappitella is a 4-foot-11, 22-year-old resident of Brighton, Michigan and decorated amateur wrestler, who is coming off an extraordinary victory in Sanya, China on February 25 where she submitted Miao Ding with an arm-triangle choke in the second round of a matchup contested at flyweight (125 pauna), two weight classes above Zappitella’s natural fighting weight.
The 4-foot-11, 34-year-old Alba of Houston, Texas will look to return to the win column after suffering a split decision defeat at the hands of old rival Paulina “Firefox” Granados at “Combate 5” last Kia 9. Prior to the loss, Alba had gone unbeaten in her campaign as a professional.
I roto i te tahi atu mahi, Victor “Kelevra” Reyna (8-3) ka tutaki Andy “Golden Boy” Perez (7-3) i te Welterweight.
The 5-foot-11, 30-year-old Reyna of Dallas, Texas has earned six of his eight professional career wins by way of (T)KO tukunga ranei, while Perez of Tucson, he 5-waewae-9, 28-tau-tau, is looking to record his second straight victory after notching a first round (2:16) tāpaetanga (kowaowaotia iho muri-tahanga) riro i runga i Anthony Wray i runga i Oketopa 1, 2016.
Originally slated to face Irwin “The Beast” Rivera (5-2) of Palm Beach, Fla., Randy Steinke (17-10) of Payson, Ariz. will now square off with Urijah Faber-protégé Erick Sanchez (7-3) o Sacramento, Calif., while Rivera will do battle with unbeaten Kevin “Quicksand” Natividad (2-0) o Phoenix, Ariz.
The 5-foot-10, 26-year-old Sanchez is looking to bounce back quickly from a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Andres “The Bullet” Quintana at Combate 11 i runga i February 16. Prior to the loss, the Team Alpha Male member held an unblemished, 2-0 record in La Jaula, te whare herehere Combate Amerika.
Originally from Hawaii, the 24-year-old Natividad owns two, first-round victories – a submission (kowaowaotia iho muri-tahanga) o Josue Rodriguez i te 3:04 mark of the first frame in what was Natividad’s pro debut on November 19, 2016, and a TKO (nifó) o Jesse Ortiz that came at the 2:52 mark of the opening round of action on January 28.
Natividad turned professional after amassing a perfect amateur record of 6-0. Five of his amateur victories came by way of TKO or submission.
The “Combate 13” preliminary bout card will also feature two flyweight matchups – the first between Arturo Guzman (0-1) of Tucson and Robert Caspar (0-0) of Copperas Grove, Texas, and the second between Justin Rascon (2-1) of Tucson and Jose Palencia, JR. (1-1) o Tempe, Ariz.
To location what station Azteca America airs on in your market, you can log onto the network’s channel finder.
In addition to Azteca America and ESPN Latin America, “Combate13” will air on TV Azteca in Mexico the following night, Rāmere, April 21, i 11 p.m. CT. It will be distributed by UFC Fight Pass® as a video on demand.
Complete “Combate Americas: Combate 13” Fight Card
Bantamweight Main Event:
Roman Salazar vs. Ricky Palacios
Middleweight Co-Main Event:
Kobe Ortiz vs. Eddie Arizmendi
Whā: Irwin Rivera vs. Kevin Natividad
Welterweight: Benny Madrid vs. Chad Dietmeyer
Welterweight: Daniel Rodriguez vs. Joel Champion
Atomweight: Alesha Zappitella vs. Stephanie Alba
Mā whitu: Erick Sanchez vs. Randy Steinke
Welterweight: Victor Reyna vs. Andy Perez
Mā: Justin Rascon vs. Jose, Palencia, JR.
Mā: Arturo Guzman vs. Robert Caspar
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