Combate Americas is going back to mixed martial arts’ roots with a single-night tournament Saturday (November 11, 2017) in Cancun, Mexico.
The tournament will feature eight men competing in the bantamweight class. The quarterfinals of the tournament will be one round of five minutes. Elbows and forearm strikes are not allowed in the quarterfinal round. The semifinals and finals will be three rounds of three minutes.
Two opening round fights in the tournament were changed after a pair of fighters missed weight earlier today, so the tournament will now feature a field of: Mikey “El Terrible” Erosa vs. Marcelo “Pitbull” Rojo, Levy Saul Marroquin vs. Carlos “Lobo” Rivera, John “Sexy Mexy” Castaneda vs. Kevin “El Frio” Moreyra and Marc “Lufo” Gomez vs. Alejandro ‘Pitbull’ Abomohor.
Erosa (12-5) and Rojo (12-4) have similar records. Erosa hails from the United States and lost his most recent bout, while Rojo is on a four-fight winning streak and is fighting out of Argentina. Both Marroquin and Rivera have two losses and hail from Mexico. Marroquin has gone 1-1 in Combate Americas while Rivera is making his promotional debut and is coming off a win this past March.
On paper, American John Castaneda (14-2) has significantly more experience than Peruvian Kevin Moreya (3-1). Castaneda is the winner of nine straight, including going 6-0 in Combate Americas and winning his fight on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Moreya has won two straight but has only fought outside Peru once and has never competed outside of South America.
James Lynch spoke with Castaneda ahead of his upcoming fight:
Lastly, Spanish fighter Marc Gomez (20-10) takes on Colombian Alejandro Abomohor (5-4). Neither fighter has much momentum as Gomez has lost two straight while Abomohor has lost three consecutive bouts.
MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting odds for the following bouts on the LFA 27 card today at Several Bookmakers.
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Combate Americas 18: Copa Combate
Grand Oasis Cancun – Cancun, Mexico
Live on Telemundo Deportes, 9PM ET
Copa Combate Bantamweight (135 lbs) Tournament:
Mikey Erosa +150
Marcelo Rojo -190
Carlos Rivera +175
Levy Saul Marroquin -245
Kevin Moreyra +260
John Castaneda -380
Alejandro Abomohor +250
Marc Gomez -350
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