Tag Archives: Mikey Erosa

COMBATE AMERICAS ANNOUNCES MATCHUPS FOR “COPA COMBATE” ONE-NIGHT, EIGHT-MAN, $100,000 GRAND PRIZE TOURNAMENT LIVE ON TELEMUNDO AND NBCSN ON SATURDAY, NOV. 11

HISTORIC EXTRAVAGANZA PITS WORLD-CLASS FIGHTERS FROM
THE U.S., LATIN AMERICA AND SPAIN AGAINST EACH OTHER
IN CANCUN, MEXICO

CANCUN, MX – November 7, 2017 – Combate Américas announced earlier the official matchups for the quarterfinal, or opening stage, of the highly-anticipated “COPA COMBATE,” one-night, eight-man bantamweight (135 pounds) Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament that will award its winner a grand prize of $100,000, live on both Telemundo and NBCSN from Cancun, Mexico on Saturday, November 11 at 11:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. CT.

The event, which takes place at Grand Oasis Cancun, marks both the first NBCU simulcast in history of an MMA event, and the first-ever Telemundo broadcast of MMA programming.

“COPA COMBATE” also represents the first time that world-class fighters from the U.S., Latin America and Spain will represent their respective countries in an epic, one-night tournament showdown in which the winner will have persevered through three consecutive bouts.

In the first quarterfinal stage bout in tournament bracket “A,” vicious striker Mikey “El Terrible” Erosa (12-5) from San Juan, Puerto Rico will take on red-hot Marcelo “The Pitbull” Rojo (12-4) from Cordoba, Argentina.

At 36 years old, Erosa is the oldest competitor in the tournament field. A combat sports tri-athlete who also boxes and kickboxes professionally, Erosa is the first recognized Puerto Rican world champion in the sport of MMA.

The 29-year-old Rojo is both the number one ranked bantamweight, as well as the top ranked featherweight (145 pounds) in his native Argentina.

A former semifinalist on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America reality television series, Rojo has produced 10 of his 12 career wins by way of (T)KO or submission and will enter the tournament riding a four-fight win streak, including two consecutive wins in his first two Combate Americas starts.

On the same side of the tournament draw, wildcard entrant and relentless brawler Ricky “El Gallero” Palacios (9-1) of Mission, Texas, will clash with fast-rising star Carlos “Lobo” Rivera (12-2) of Mexico City, Mexico.

The 30-year-old Palacios, the longest standing member of the Combate Americas fighter roster, has won all six of bouts in La Jaula, the Combate Americas circular cage.

In his last two starts, Palacios, also unbeaten as a professional boxer, earned victories over two different Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) veterans – a split decision over Roman Salazar on April 20, and a unanimous decision over Chris Avila on July 27.

Rivera is a 24-year-old member of the famed “Bonebreakers” fight squad.  He has produced 8 of his 10 professional career wins by way of (T)KO or submission, and will enter La Jaula for the first time in his career, with three straight victories under his belt.

On the other side of the tournament draw, 25-year-old trailblazer John “Sexi Mexi” Castaneda (14-2) of Mankato, Minn. will battle national Muay Thai champion Kevin “El Frio” Moreyra (4-1) of Lima, Peru.

Tied with Palacios for the greatest number of wins – six – in La Jaula, Castaneda recently re-signed with Combate Americas where he has yet to be beaten, after emerging victorious by way of unanimous decision over Cheyden Leialoha in UFC President Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series on August 1.

Moreyra is an aggressive-minded, 24-year-old who also boasts a 4-1 record as a professional Muay Thai combatant, and is regarded as Peru’s fastest rising MMA star.

In the second tournament bracket “B” bout, battle-tested, number one ranked Spanish bantamweight Marc “Lufo” Gómez (20-10) of Barcelona will collide with number one-ranked Colombian bantamweight Andres “Doble A Leal “ Ayala (14-4) of Bogota.

At just 25 years of age, Gómez has already racked up 30 professional bouts, making him the most experienced of the tournament field and, of his 20 career victories, an astonishing 17 have come by way of (T)KO or submission.

Ayala is a gutsy, 27-year-old striker who also boasts a spectacular finish rate, with 9 of his 11 career conquests having come by way of (T)KO or submission.  In addition to his place as the top ranked 135-pound fighter in his country, Ayala also owns a top 10 ranking in Mexico.

The live simulcast of “COPA COMBATE” on Telemundo and NBCSN will feature the tournament’s complete semifinal stage consisting of two bouts that pit the winners of the quarterfinal stage matchups in each tournament bracket against one another, as well as the championship stage showdown.

In addition to the tournament action, Telemundo’s and NBCSN’s live television coverage of “COPA COMBATE” will feature the previously announced women’s strawweight (115 pounds) co-main event between undefeated knockout artist Melissa “Super Melly” Martinez (2-0) of Mexico City, Mexico, and submission expert and Miesha Tate pupil Gloria “Gloriosa” Bravo (4-2) of Santiago, Chile.

The entire quarterfinal stage of the tournament, as well as two tournament alternate bouts and a second women’s bout that will be announced soon, will stream live on the Telemundo Deportes En Vivo app and TelemundoDeportes.com. Coverage on NBCSN will be live streamed on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

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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 sports fans worldwide.  The Combate Americas franchise includes reality TV programming, live events and mobile programming. The company’s CEO, Campbell McLaren, is universally recognized as the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). New York Magazine described McLaren as “the marketing genius behind the UFC” and Yahoo! Sports proclaimed that he “knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today.” With an unprecedented 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.

COMBATE AMERICAS ANNOUNCES TWO TOURNAMENT ALTERNATE BOUTS, WOMEN’S PRELIMINARY BOUT FOR “COPA COMBATE” ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11 IN CANCUN, MEXICO

Pictured below:  Levy Saul “El Negro” Marroquin (8-2) will compete in a “COPA COMBATE” tournament alternate bout in Cancun, Mexico onSaturday, Nov. 11.  Photo credit: Scott Hirano/Combate Americas, LLC

HISTORIC EVENT’S ONE-NIGHT, EIGHT-MAN,
$100,000 GRAND PRIZE TOURNAMENT BROADCASTS LIVE
ON TELEMUNDO DEPORTES FROM GRAND OASIS CANCUN

ALTERNATE BOUTS AND PRELIMINARY BOUT
STREAM LIVE BEFORE LIVE TELEMUNDO BROADCAST

NEW YORK – October 26, 2017 –Combate Americas today announced the addition of two “alternate bouts” for its historic, one-night, eight-man “COPA COMBATE” Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bantamweight (135 pounds) tournament that will award its winner a grand prize of $100,000 at Grand Oasis in Cancun, Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 11, live on Telemundo Deportes (11:35 p.m. ET/10:35 p.m. CT, or following “Titulares y Mas”).

The two alternate matchups, as well as a newly announced women’s atomweight (105 pounds) matchup between world top 10-ranked Sheila Padilla (3-1) of Visalia, Calif. and aggressive-minded Lisbeth “Bunny” Lopez Silva(4-3) of Mexico City, Mexico will stream live on the Telemundo Deportes En Vivo app and TelemundoDeportes.com, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, preceding the live Telemundo Deportes broadcast of the event that picks up with the tournament’s first semifinal stage matchup.

In one tournament alternate bout, Levy Saul “El Negro” Marroquin (8-2) will square off with Alejandro “Pitbull” Abomohor (5-4) and, in the other tournament alternate bout, Felipe “Pipe” Vargas (4-0) will face off with Jose “Pupi” Calvo (3-1).

In the event a winner of one of the tournament’s quarterfinal stage bouts is unable to advance to the semifinal stage due to injury, one of the two alternate bout winners will take the injured quarterfinal bout winner’s place in the semifinal stage.


Above: Sheila Padilla (left) will square off with Lisbeth Lopez Silva (right) in an atomweight (105 pounds) preliminary bout at “COPA COMBATE” on Saturday, Nov. 11.  Photo credit: Combate Americas, LLC

Marroquin’s start will mark a drop from the featherweight division.  The 22-year-old, who hails from Monterrey, Mexico, has produced seven of his eight career victories to date, by way of (T)KO or submission.

Abohomor of Barranquilla, Colombia is a 23-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu national champion and Capoeira expert.

The undefeated, 23-year-old Vargas is a ferocious knockout artist who recently relocated from Spain to Miami, Fla. where he has been training with famed fight squad American Top Team.

Similar to Vargas, the 24-year-old Calvo of San Jose, Costa Rica moved to Chicago, Ill. where he trains with renowned coach Mike Valle.

Tickets for “COPA COMBATE” at Grand Oasis Cancun are on sale at SmarTicket.

“COPA COMBATE” takes place on the 24th anniversary of McLaren’s now legendary UFC 1 event that he executive produced as the co-founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).  The storied event set off a combat sports revolution, and changed the martial arts fight world forever.

The live Telemundo broadcast of “COPA COMBATE” marks the first time in history that NBCU’s leading Spanish language television network will air MMA fight programming, and will cover the tournament’s two semifinal stage bouts and championship stage showdown as well as a previously women’s strawweight (115 pounds0 co-main event between Melissa “Super Melly” Martinez (2-0) of Mexico City and Gloria “Gloriosa” Bravo (4-2) of Santiago, Chile.

A lottery ball drawing to determine the “COPA COMBATE” tournament quarterfinal stage matchups will be held onThursday, Nov. 2.  The eight tournament competitors are as follows:

  • John “Sexi Mexi” Castaneda (14-2) of Mankato, Minn.
  • Marcelo “Pitbull” Rojo (12-4) of Cordoba, Argentina
  • Carlos “Lobo” Rivera (10-2) of Mexico City, Mexico
  • Mikey “El Terrible” Erosa (12-5) of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Marc “Lufo” Gomez (20-10) of Barcelona, Spain
  • Andres “Doble A” Ayala (11-4) of Bogota, Colombia
  • Kevin “El Frio” Moreyra (4-1) of Lima, Peru
  • Ricky “El Gallero” Palacios (9-1) of Mission, Texas

The entire quarterfinal stage of the tournament will stream live on the Telemundo Deportes En Vivo app and TelemundoDeportes.com, along with the tournament alternate bouts and the women’s preliminary bout.

Telemundo Deportes, one of the leading providers of sports content in Spanish in the United States, is home to two of the world’s most popular sporting events: the FIFA World Cup™ through 2026 and the Summer Olympic Games through 2032. In addition, Telemundo Deportes broadcasts the FIFA World Cup™ CONCACAF qualifying matches for most of the region, including the Mexico and USA national teams’ away matches and the Premier League. Telemundo Deportes is also home to “Boxeo Telemundo Ford,” the #1 boxing program in Spanish, and “Titulares y Más,” the #1 sports news, entertainment and commentary show in Spanish, among other recognized sports properties.

COMBATE AMERICAS AND TELEMUNDO DEPORTES ANNOUNCE HISTORIC, LIVE MMA BROADCAST OF $100,000 GRAND PRIZE “COPA COMBATE” TOURNAMENT ON SATURDAY, NOV. 11 FROM CANCUN, MEXICO

Telemundo and Combate Americas have announced a historic partnership for the broadcast television network’s first-ever live MMA event with “Copa Combate,” the one-night, eight-man, $100,000 grand prize tournament in Cancun, Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 11.

(Pictured from left to right below): Tournament fighter Mikey Erosa of San Juan, Puerto Rico; multi-time WWE Heavyweight Champion and Combate Americas talent Alberto Del Rio; tournament fighter Marcelo Rojo of Cordoba, Argentina; tournament fighter John Castaneda of Mankato, Minn; Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren; Telemundo Deportes President Ray Warren; tournament fighter Carlos Rivera of Mexico City, Mexico; tournament fighter Ricky Palacios of Mission, Texas; and tournament fighter Marc Gomez of Barcelona, Spain

One night, eight-man tournament takes place on the 24th anniversary of UFC 1, pitting the most fearsome competitors from the
U.S., Latin America and Spain against each other in
high stakes showdown

All eight tournament fighters announced

MIAMI – October 5, 2017Combate Americas and Telemundo Deportes announced, at a news conference in the Wynwood district of Miami, a landmark partnership to produce the first-ever Telemundo broadcast of a live Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event with “COPA COMBATE,” the epic, one-night, eight-man tournament, the winner of which will have persevered through three bouts in one night to take home a $100,000 grand prize. The event will take place onNovember 11 at 11:30 p.m. ET/ 8:30 p.m. PT, live from Cancun, Mexico.

The historic, 90-minute live broadcast on Telemundo will coincide with the 24thanniversary of the now legendary UFC 1, which was executive produced by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) co-founder and Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren, and which was also headlined by a one-night, eight-man tournament.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with Telemundo Deportes and to bring back to life, live on Telemundo, the leading U.S. broadcast television network, the most thrilling format for competitive fighting that was responsible for changing the combat sports world forever when I introduced the UFC in 1993,” said McLaren.

“Telemundo Deportes is committed to continue expanding its portfolio of sports events, and we are thrilled to partner with Combate Americas to bring this unique MMA tournament to millions of Hispanic viewers,” said Ray Warren, President of Telemundo Deportes. “Copa Combate is a tournament created for our core audience featuring an exciting format and a diverse group of Hispanic competitors, and we look forward to an historic broadcast.”

“COPA COMBATE” will assemble a collection of the most fearsome stars in MMA’s bantamweight (135 pounds) division, hailing from the U.S., Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, and Peru, and will see them battle in La Jaula, the Combate Americas competition cage, over the course of three tournament stages – quarterfinal, semifinal and championship – before the eventual winner is crowned.

The event marks the first time in history that fighters will represent their respective countries on a quest to win the inaugural ‘Copa.’

Joining the previously announced John “Sexy Mexy” Castaneda (14-2) of Mankato, Minn. in the tournament field, will be the highest ranked bantamweight fighters in their respective countries:

  • Marcelo “Pitbull” Rojo (12-4) of Cordoba, Argentina
  • Carlos “Lobo” Rivera (10-2) of Mexico City, Mexico
  • Mikey “El Terrible” Erosa (12-5) of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Marc “Lufo” Gomez (20-10) of Barcelona, Spain
  • Andres “Doble A” Ayala (11-4) of Bogota, Colombia
  • Kevin “El Frio” Moreyra (4-1) of Lima, Peru

Filling the eighth spot in the tournament field will be wild card entry, Ricky “El Gallero” Palacios (9-1) of Mission, Texas.

Palacios, a 30-year-old knockout artist, is riding a six-fight win streak, and is tied with Castaneda for the most wins – six – held under the Combate Americas promotional umbrella.  In his last two starts, Palacios earned decisions over UFC veterans Roman Salazar and Chris Avila, respectively.

The eight competitors will be separated into four tournament brackets, with the top four fighters given seeded positions based on their worldwide rankings.

Quarterfinal stage opponents for the four fighters will be determined based on a lottery ball drawing that will take place on a date to be announced.

Telemundo’s live broadcast of “COPA COMBATE” will feature the tournament’s semifinal stage consisting of two bouts that pit the winners of the quarterfinal stage bouts in each tournament bracket against one another. The entire quarterfinal stage of the tournament will stream live on the Telemundo Deportes En Vivo app and TelemundoDeportes.com.

Telemundo Deportes, one of the leading providers of sports content in Spanish in the United States, is home to two of the world’s most popular sporting events: the FIFA World Cup™ through 2026 and the Summer Olympic Games through 2032. In addition, Telemundo Deportes broadcasts the FIFA World Cup™ CONCACAF qualifying matches for most of the region, including the Mexico and USA national teams’ away matches and the Premier League. Telemundo Deportes is also home to “Boxeo Telemundo Ford,” the #1 boxing program in Spanish, and “Titulares y Más,” the #1 sports news, entertainment and commentary show in Spanish, among other recognized sports properties.
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