The one-night tournament model is becoming increasingly rare in MMA, but Combate Global is bringing it back for its penultimate event of 2023.
A promotion official informed MMA Junkie on Thursday of plans for an eight-main, one-night “Cope Combate” featherweight tournament that will reward the winner with $100,000.
The event takes place Dec. 15 in Miami and will will air on Univision in the U.S., as well as stream live in the U.S. on both Paramount+ in English and ViX (Univision’s streaming service) in Spanish.
The list of participants, which spreads across eight countries, includes:
- Ramiro Jimenez (7-0)
- Manuel Exposito (10-1)
- Tommy “La Salsa” Garcia (7-2)
- Leonardo “Chimmy” Morales (13-9)
- Marlon Gonzales (15-6-2)
- Nicolas “Nico” Barna (8-3)
- Pablo Burgos (5-2)
- Jeremy Alba (1-0)
The format of the tournament will differ from the previous “Copa Combate” tournament run by the promotion in 2021.
The quarterfinal bouts will be scheduled for two five-minute rounds. The semifinals will be one five-minute round, then the pair of athletes who make it to the championship round will clash in a traditional three five-minute round bout.
“Only Combate Global offers MMA fans the ‘original recipe’ of the eight-man tournament,” Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren said. “This ‘Copa’ is going to be ‘extra crispy’ too.”
