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MIAMI – November 9, 2023 – COMBATE GLOBAL announced today that, for the first time in history, it will bring its brand of Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) action to Colombia with a world championship tripleheader event at Coliseo Medplus in the capital city of Bogotá on Friday, Nov 17, live on Paramount+.
The live Paramount+ stream of the event will begin with a 30-minute pre-show, co-hosted by Jimmy Smith and Rodolfo Roman, at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT on November 17, and continue with the first bout at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
The event, being produced in partnership with Colombian MMA outfit, Matchmaker, will mark COMBATE GLOBAL’s return to South America for the first time since prior to the pandemic, as well as the first COMBATE GLOBAL live event outside of a Miami-based television studio since before the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
In 2019, COMBATE GLOBAL produced two live events in South America. Since 2021, the company has signed over two dozen of the best, new South American male and female professional MMA athletes, and has positioned itself to expand to its live event series to the continent, beginning with the November 17 event in Bogotá.
“Our commitment to South America, strategically including Colombia, Argentina and Chile, has never been greater,” said COMBATE GLOBAL CEO, Campbell McLaren.
In the world championship featherweight (145 pounds) main event on November 17, COMBATE GLOBAL superstar Javier “Blair” Reyes (16-3) will challenge Stiven “Pantro” Valencia (7-3) for Valencia’s Matchmaker title.
“We have wanted to bring COMBATE GLOBAL to Colombia because of the avid MMA fanbase and talent pool there, and Matchmaker has given us an excellent opportunity to do so for the first time with a world championship tripleheader in Bogotá,” said Mike Afromowitz, Senior VP of Operations and Communications with COMBATE GLOBAL.
A resident of Bogotá and the number one-ranked featherweight from Colombia, the 30-year-old Reyes, who boasts a 75 percent finish rate, is in the midst of a phenomenal, six-fight win streak that dates back to December 2019.
Reyes, in his last COMBATE GLOBAL start on May 28, easily dispatched of Mexico’s Jordan “Bull” Beltran, submitting Beltran with a rear-naked choke in the first round (4:24) of action.
Valencia is a 34-year-old competitor from Buenaventura, Colombia looking for his fourth straight win after scoring a record 4-second knockout on Steven Martinez on April 21.
To date, Valencia, a 10-year veteran of professional MMA, has produced a stellar finish rate of 71 percent.
In a world championship welterweight (170 pounds) co-main event between undefeated competitors, Jesus “El Cuervo” Alberto Rangel (3-0) will take on Alexis “El Juggernaut” Campos (3-0).
The matchup between Rangel of Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico and Campos of Estado Falcón, Venezuela will be contested as the first-ever Matchmaker welterweight world title fight.
The 27-year-old Rangel will see action for the first time since March 4, when he earned a unanimous decision over Sergio Nava.
At 29 years of age, Campos is quickly becoming a force in MMA’s 170-pound division, racking up three straight wins by way of TKO in his first three professional starts since turning professional in 2019.
Prior to joining the professional ranks of the sport, Campos compiled a perfect 5-0 record as an amateur earning all 5 of his victories by way of (T)KO or submission.
The third world championship bout in Matchmaker’s bantamweight (135 pounds) division will pit Andres “Doble A” Leal (15-11) of Bogotá against Jeffry “The Bullet” Gil (4-6), also of Bogotá.
In a featured bantamweight contest, recent COMBATE GLOBAL signee Harry “El Cuervo” Gomez (11-1) will collide with Juan Pablo Mendoza (6-6).
Gomez is a 21-year-old prodigy who COMBATE GLOBAL scooped off of the regional MMA circuit in his native Salinas, Ecuador in June and signed to an exclusive, multi-fight, multi-year agreement.
The best, new bantamweight to come out of Ecuador, Gomez will see action for the first time in 2023.
To date, Gomez, also a national Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion, has earned 72 percent of his professional MMA wins via (T)KO or submission.
Mendoza, 39, is a 9-year veteran of the sport. He holds a black belt in kickboxing, a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is a former national kickboxing champion.
In other action on the card, Ronald “El Lobo” Vásquez (4-3) of Medellin, Colombia will battle undefeated Nicolas “Nico” Bojacá (3-0) of Bogotá for the vacant Matchmaker national flyweight (125 pounds) championship.
Leading off the card will be a lightweight (155 pounds) affair between Dumar “Corazón de León” Roa (18-14) of Boyacá, Colombia and Jon “The Problem” Zarate (9-11) of Medellín, Colombia.
All three championship fights on the card will be contested as five-round bouts, while the non-championship fights will be contested as three-round bouts.
The co-promoted event will be regulated by Organización Colombiana de Artes Marciales Mixtas (OCAMM), the sole MMA organization recognized by The Ministry of Sport of the Republic of Colombia.
Additional information about COMBATE GLOBAL and its athletes can be found on www.CombateGlobal.com as well as on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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About Combate Global
Combate Global is the premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise that is rapidly becoming the number two sport after soccer for Spanish speaking fans worldwide, and that consistently garners television ratings that are superior to those of other major, longer established sports television properties. It is the only MMA property regularly airing on broadcast television in the U.S. (Univision) and the only MMA property owned, in part, by a major Hispanic media company, as a result of TelevisaUnivision purchasing a significant equity stake in Combate Global in 2021. In 2021, the company also partnered with CBS Sports to distribute Combate Global’s live shows in English in the U.S. on Paramount+. In 2022, the company partnered with Eurosport for live distribution in Spain, as well as with RMC Sport in France and, in 2023, Combate Global entered into a multi-year partnership with global entertainment powerhouse, IMG, for media rights representation worldwide. The company’s programming is available in over 70 countries in Europe, Africa and elsewhere globally.
Nielsen research indicates that an astounding 91 percent of Combate Global viewers in the U.S. are not regular viewers of other MMA content, demonstrating that Combate Global has garnered a new MMA audience with its World Cup-style, country vs. country-style competition.
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 Paramount+
Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, combines live sports, breaking news and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world’s biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream CBSN for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis.
For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlus on social platforms.
