David Martinez and Frans Mlambo meet at Combate Global in May.
The two will square off for the bantamweight title on Sunday, May 29. The event takes place in Miami.
“Mexico and Ireland have historically produced some of the toughest fighters in combat sports, and that is what we have with this championship fight between David Martinez and Frans Mlambo – a fight between two of Combate’s strongest and most relentless competitors,“ said, Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren.
The 23-year-old Martinez of Mexico City, Mexico turned in a masterful performance exactly one year ago from the date of the upcoming title fight, defeating three consecutive opponents in one night to become the Combate Global world bantamweight champion.
Following his first round (1:50) TKO (punches) of Alex “Coyote” Gonzalez in the quarterfinal stage of the tournament, Martinez, a member of Mexico City’s Bonebreakers team, notched a unanimous decision over Alan “Beche” Cantu, and scored a thunderous, second round (0:17) TKO (head kick and punches) on Francisco “Cisco” Rivera, Jr. in the semifinal and championship stages of the tournament, respectively.
Mlambo, a protégé of famed trainer John Kavanagh, will turn 31 years of age a week before the title bout. He is a native of South Africa who immigrated to Ireland with his family at age 11. Like Martinez, Mlambo arrives at this juncture after defeating three opponents in one night in Combate Global tournament action to extend his win streak to five consecutive fights. Mlambo’s tournament victory took place at the organization’s largest annual event – “COPA COMBATE” – last December 12, where the Irishman defeated Jose Zarauz of Peru, Cristian Barraza of Chile and Kevin Cordero of Spain, respectively, to win the tournament’s $100,000 grand prize.