Combate Americas announced eight new bouts to complete its return to Fresno, Calif. with a stellar, nine-bout Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight card, live on television in Spanish in the U.S., on both Univision (12 a.m. ET/PT) and UDN (12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT), and in English in the U.S. and Canada on DAZN (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) from Save Mart Center on Friday.
Priced from $22, tickets for the Combate Americas event are on sale at Ticketmaster.com.
In the welterweight (170 pounds) co-main event announced today, former Combate Americas reality television series contestant J.C. “The Leglock Monster” Llamas (8-7) will square off with rising star Joaquin Lopez (5-1).
In a featured bantamweight (135 pounds) battle, undefeated Isaiah “The Mexipino” Batin-Gonzalez (4-0) will collide with knockout artist Jesse Strader (4-1).
In the previously announced flyweight (125 pounds) main event, former world champion and superstar Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto (14-5) of Dublin, Calif. via Madera, Calif. will face three-time Central American Judo champion and multiple-time Sambo champion, Reina Cordoba (9-1) of San Jose, Costa Rica.
Fighting out of Bakersfield, Calif., the 34-year-old Llamas, who is originally from Puerta Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Capoeira stylist best remembered by Combate Americas fans for his antagonistic role in the franchise’s 2014 Imagen Award-winning competition reality television series where he placed second in his weight division.
The talented, 30-year-old Lopez of Santa Rosa, Calif. will look to rebound from the only loss of his career to date – a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Batsumberel Dagvadorj on March 23.
Prior to the most recent result, Lopez had notched all five of his professional wins by way of (T)KO.
Batin-Gonzalez of Milipitas, Calif. will risk his perfect record in what will mark his Combate Americas promotional debut, after submitting Justin Durham with a triangle choke on March 16.
The 34-year-old Batin-Gonzalez is a member of Northern California’s famed Team AKA that has produced the likes of superstars Cain Velasquez and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Gonzalez will face his toughest test to date in Lancaster, Calif.’s Strader, a hard-hitting, 28-year-old prospect whose vicious body attacks have already gained him critical acclaim despite his short, less than two-year tenure as a professional.
Strader is coming off a second round (4:41) TKO (punches) of Michael Jackson at the Combate Americas event at Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif. on April 26.
In undercard action announced today, Adrian Guzman (4-1) of Parlier, Calif. will look to return to the win column after his hard-fought defeat at the hands of Jose “Froggy” Estrada on the April 26 Combate Americas card, in a 150-pound catchweight contest against Cesar “Cubby” Gonzales (1-3) of Vallejo, Calif.
Unbeaten, rising star Paul Elizondo (2-0) of Fresno will collide with Mike “Mean Phillapene” Tubera (0-0) of Ceres, Calif. in a flyweight matchup.
Jose “Stimatik” Avalos (3-2) of Parlier will face off with Trey “Bam” Branch (2-3) of Bakersfield at bantamweight.
Albert “Big Al” Gonzales (0-1) of Fresno will make his second Combate Americas start in a 180-pound catchweight fight against Havier Pedroza (0-1) of Visalia, Calif.
Brock Dias (0-0) of Visalia will make his professional debut against Carlos Figueroa (0-2) of Santa Rosa, Calif. in a featherweight (145 pounds) scrap.
Austin “The Dynasty” Liu (0-0) of Fresno will also make his professional debut in a bantamweight tilt against Daniel Oseguera (0-1) of Modesto.
Doors at Save Mart Center will open at 6 p.m. local time on August 23. The first preliminary bout will begin at 7 p.m.