Combate Global To Stage One-Night, Eight-Man Tournament

On Sat, May 29, Combate Global will cut itself a slice of MMA history in the state of Florida by becoming the first MMA promotion to stage a one-night eight-man MMA tournament in the Sunshine state.

The announced lineup consists of four U.S. fighters and four Mexican fighters. The athletes will be placed into separate pools, based on the country they represent for the quarters and the semi-finals, which will set up a Mexico-US final.

“The eight-man tournament is how I launched the UFC, and it is one of the ways that Combate has distinguished itself from other MMA organizations,” said Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren.

“Only Combate does a one-night tournament, which is considered the toughest event in sports. The challenge for the athletes is not just the extraordinary physical challenge of three fights in one night, but also the incredible mental challenge of facing three different opponents in one night.”

The bouts will differ in length, with the quarterfinal bouts being a one, five-minute round affair while the semi-finals and final will be three, three-minute round contests. Combate has steadily been growing in popularity, and tournaments like the upcoming one on May 29 are the sort of events guaranteed to generate interest.  

The fact that the quarterfinals will only last a single round should ensure action right from the opening bell. The night will also feature two reserve bouts, so both pools will have a replacement fighter if someone gets injured in the tournament. 

Here is the announced lineup for the May 29 event.

Eight-Man Bantamweight Tournament 

Mexico Pool

• Quarterfinal : David Martinez vs. Eduardo Alvarado Osuna
• Quarterfinal : Ernesto Ibarra vs. Alan Cantu

USA Pool

• Quarterfinal: Manny Vazquez vs. Nohelin Hernandez
• Quarterfinal: Francisco Rivera, Jr vs. Adam Martinez

Reserve Bouts

• Mexico: Rodrigo Garcia vs. Alex Gonzalez
• USA: Hector Fajardo vs. Leodegario Muniz

• Non tournament catchweight (118lbs) women’s bout: Karen Cedillo vs.Camila Rivarola

How to watch: Univision (11 p.m. ET/PT) and TUDN USA (11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT) in the U.S. from Univision’s studios in Miami, Fla.10:30 p.m. local time.