Combate Global Announces 1-Night, 8-Woman Tournament This Friday

Spain’s Claudia Diaz (left) and Mexico’s Paulina Vargas (right) will square off at Combate Global’s first one-night, eight-woman tournament in history.
Photo credit: Scott Hirano/Combate Global LLC

NEW YORK – August 9, 2021 – Combate Global today announced its first one-night, eight-woman Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament in history, live on Paramount+ on Friday, Aug. 13 from Miami, Fla.

Paramount+ live coverage will begin with a Combate Global pre-show at 10:30 p.m. ET/9:30 p.m. CT, and will continue with the live fight action, beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. CT.

In addition, this week’s Combate coverage is complemented on CBS Sports Network with the one-hour recap show on Thursday, Aug. 12 (9:00 p.m. ET) highlighting last week’s action.

The tournament will take place in the strawweight (115 pounds) division, with the eight competitors representing six different countries.

A fighter must win three consecutive bouts in one night to become tournament champion and the number one Combate Global strawweight contender.

“Combate Global continues to demonstrate its women’s division is the most exciting on the planet,” said Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren.

In one bracket of the tournament, undefeated phenom Yasmine Jauregui (5-0) of Tijuana, B.C. Mexico will take on Stephanie “Macaquinha” Frausto (8-7) of Dublin, Calif., while unbeaten Criszaida Adames (4-0) of The Dominican Republic via Philadelphia, Pa. will collide with Yajaira “La Pantera Negra” Cunningham, who fights out of Homestead, Fla. and represents Nicaragua.

In the opposite tournament bracket, Paulina Vargas (4-1) of Guadalajara, J.L., Mexico will face off with Claudia Diaz (1-2 MMA; 17-7-1 Muay Thai) of Barcelona, Spain, and Karen Cedillo (4-2) of Monterrey, N.L., Mexico will battle Claire Lopez of Nice, France.

The winners of the respective first (quarterfinal) stage bouts in each bracket will square off with each other in the semifinal stage of the tournament, and the victors of the semifinal stage bouts will meet in the championship stage of the tournament.

In addition, two tournament “reserve” bouts will take place, the first one pitting Delaney “Lil’ Scrappy” Bailey (3-2) of Clearwater, Fla. against Caroline “Taz” Gallardo (4-4) of Santiago, Chile via Chicago, Ill., and the other matching Camila Rivarola (4-3) of Montevideo, Uruguay via Stockholm, Sweden against Andrea “Fortaleza” Soraluz (2-4) of Lima, Peru via Miami, Fla.

Should any of the quarterfinal stage tournament bout winners sustain injury en route to victory and be unable to continue competing in the semifinal stage, a tournament reserve bout winner will take the injured quarterfinal winner’s place in the tournament field.

In between stages of the tournament, a men’s flyweight (125 pounds) contest between Marias Vasquez Jimenez (13-6) of Santiago, Chile and Elias Garcia (6-2) of Irvine, Calif. will take place.