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NEW YORK and MIAMI - April 26, 2021 – Combate Global and Univision Communications Inc. today announced “Combate Latina,” a night of all-women’s Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) action, on Friday, April 30, live on Univision (12:30 a.m. ET/PT) and TUDN USA (12:30 a.m. ET/9:30 p.m. PT) in the U.S. and on TUDN MX (11:30 p.m. local time) in Mexico from Univision’s studios in Miami, Fla.
The show will also re-air in Mexico on Televisa Nueve the following day, Saturday, May 1 at 5 p.m. local time.
“Our women athletes over-deliver,” said Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren. “We have one of the best rosters of women fighters in the world, so establishing a ‘Combate Latina’ franchise is a great addition to our business. Chingona!”
In the “Combate Latina” strawweight (115 pounds) main event announced today, undefeated Criszaida Adames (4-0) will look to continue her perfect run against fellow rising star Karen Cedillo (4-1).
Fighting out of Philadelphia, Pa., the 28-year-old Adames, who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Dominican Republic is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the strawweight division after going undefeated as an amateur.
Adames is coming off a second round (2:07) submission (rear-naked choke) victory over Claudia Baril last November 18.
Cedillo is a 31-year-old native of Monterrey, N.L., Mexico and former competitive swimmer of 15 years turned mixed martial arts competitor who is seeking her fourth consecutive victory.
The Combate Global co-main event will feature a 118-pound catchweight contest between unbeaten, three-sport athlete “Sexy” Dulce Garcia (2-0 MMA, 5-0 boxing) and Muay Thai champion and MMA upstart Claudia Diaz (0-2 MMA, 9-4-1 Muay Thai, 8-3 kickboxing).
Garcia, also an undefeated boxer and famed Lucha Libre competitor who hails from Monterrey, will seek her third consecutive win in La Jaula since jumping into MMA in 2019 and collecting her first two wins in the sport.
A native of Barcelona, Spain, Diaz is the reigning World Muay Thai Council (WMC) featherweight (121 pounds) champion.
Diaz has been living and training in Phuket, Thailand, the home of Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Training Camp, for the last two years.
The inaugural “Combate Latina” card will also feature a 110-pound catchweight bout between Ana “Guerrera” Palacios (4-1-1) of Mexico City, Mexico and Yajaira “Pantera Negra” Cunningham (2-1) of Homestead, Fla.
In another 110-pound catchweight affair, Alitzel Mariscal (2-1) of Zapopan, J.L., Mexico will take on Maraya Miller (0-0) of San Dimas, Calif.
Above: Mexico’s “Sexy” Dulce Garcia (left) will battle Spain’s Claudia Diaz (right) in the co-main event of “Combate Latina” on Friday, April 30.
Nicole Geraldo (0-0) of Mexico City via Guadalajara, J.L. will make her professional debut in a strawweight matchup against Reena “Mean Bean” Norville (0-1) of Spring Valley, Calif.
Another athlete, Byelka “Bam Bam” Soto (0-0) of El Paso, Texas via Denver, Colo. will make her professional debut against Elizabeth Schroder (0-1) of Durham, N.C.
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ABOUT COMBATE GLOBAL
Combate Global, previously “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 company is dedicated to developing the best, new MMA athletes from different countries while matching them against one another in country vs. country-style competition. Each year of Combate Global action culminates with “COPA COMBATE,” the toughest one-night tournament in sports that has established itself as the World Cup of MMA and the most coveted destination for representing one’s country.
The Combate Global franchise includes live event and original shoulder programming, and is the only MMA property regularly airing on broadcast television in both the U.S. (Univision) and Mexico (Televisa). Nielsen research indicates that an astounding 91 percent of Combate Global viewers are not regular viewers of other MMA content, demonstrating that Combate Global has garnered a new MMA audience.
Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren, also the co-founder and 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." Under his direction, the growth of Combate Americas’ television footprint and worldwide audience triggered a re-branding in 2021 to Combate Global.
ABOUT UNIVISION COMMUNICATIONS INC.
As the leading Spanish-language content and media company in the U.S., Univision Communications Inc. entertains, informs and empowers U.S. Hispanics with news, sports and entertainment content across broadcast and cable television, audio and digital platforms. The company’s top-rated media portfolio includes the Univision and UniMás broadcast networks, as well as 10 cable networks including Galavisión and TUDN, the No. 1 Spanish-language sports network in the country. Locally, Univision owns or operates 61 television stations in major Hispanic markets across the United States. Additionally, Uforia, the Home of Latin Music, encompasses 58 owned or operated radio stations, a live event series and a robust digital audio footprint. The company’s prominent digital assets include Univision.com, free AVOD streaming service PrendeTV, Univision Now, the largest Hispanic influencer network and several top-rated apps. For more information, visit corporate.univision.com.
ABOUT TUDN
TUDN is the multimedia sports division of Univision Communications Inc., the leading Spanish-language content and 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 and many more.
