A 38-year-old former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces who began transitioning (male to female) in 2010, Alana McLaughlin made her MMA debut Friday night against Celine Provost at Combate Global’s latest event. As a transgender athlete in mixed martial arts, McLaughlin is a rare case. McLaughlin said prior to the bout that she was attempting to pick up the mantle that Fallon Fox put down.

Fox, of course, was the first transgender MMA fighter to fight in MMA, back from 2012 to 2014. He presence in the sport drew loads of controversy from notable MMA figures such as Joe Rogan and others, especially after she fractured the orbital bone and concussed her final opponent, Tamikka Brents. Fox was also in person for McLaughlin’s debut Friday night.

The first round was a rough one for McLaughlin, as Provost rocked her multiple times and seemed on the verge of getting a finish. However, McLaughlin would survive and in round two would secure an amazing comeback finish, as she would take down Provost and get the rear-naked-choke finish at 3:32 of the second frame. That moved McLaughlin to 1-0 in her MMA career.

The win was a historic one, given there has been no known transgender fighter since Fox in 2014 in MMA. However in boxing, Patricio Manuel became the first transgender male to compete in a professional bout in the United States when he beat Hugo Aguilar via unanimous decision.

McLaughlin made it known that she’s trying to open more doors for trans athletes to compete, saying:

“If we want to see more trans athletes, if we want to see more opportunities for trans kids, we’re going to have to work out way into those spaces and make it happen. It’s time for trans folks to be in sports and be more normalized.”

It’s worth noting that McLaughlin’s debut comes at a time as multiple states argue bills aimed at restricting transgender athletes from participating in youth, high school and college sports. Earlier this summer, Mississippi became the second U.S. state to ban trans athletes from competing in women’s sports. The Mississippi Fairness Act requires athletes to compete according to their sex at birth, rather than gender identity. More states are expected to follow suit.

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Combate Global, formerly Combate Americas, has found a new English broadcast partner as they announced a partnership with Paramount and CBS Sports.  The promotion will begin their partnership with their event on June 25 airing on the CBS Sports Network.  Afterward, their live events will air exclusively on the Paramount+ streaming service.  A weekly one-hour recap show for the most recent event will air on the CBS Sports Network.  Per a press release, the promotion plans to air 30 events annually in 2022 and 2023.

The company first gained traction by airing on UFC Fight Pass before later joining Bellator on the streaming service DAZN.  In late 2019, the promotion left the streamer to go to the more established AXS TV following the end of their partnership with LFA.  Combate aired several shows on the network, but went over a year without holding events due to the pandemic.  AXS on to sign a deal with Invicta FC.  Combate did not have an English language broadcast upon their return earlier this year.  The promotion’s Spanish broadcast has historically performed well by airing on major networks Telemundo and now Univision.

Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren said of the partnership:

We are thrilled to partner with CBS Sports and bring Combate Global action to the Paramount+ platform. Millions of combat sports fans have heard about Combate Global’s fast and furious version of MMA and can now see for themselves. Find out why Combate is ‘Much More Action’ with our world class announcing team calling the action.

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Combate Americas lives to fight another day.

The Latin American centered promotion announced earlier this week that they will now be branded as Combate Global going forward along with an extended television deal.  In a press release, Combate Global announced that they had signed a new five year deal with their current Spanish language broadcast partner Univision that will feature 150 live events over the next five years.  The promotion has been a part of the network since 2018.  Combate Global had signed a new English broadcast deal with AXS TV in 2019 with a plan to feature 35 events in 2020.  It is unknown what the current status of the deal is as only three events were held on AXS before the promotion was shut down due to the pandemic.  The event on April 9 is the promotion’s first since February of last year and it is unclear if the AXS TV deal remains active.

President of Univision Sports Juan Carlos Rodriguez said in the release:

We are excited to extend our relationship and look forwar to growing the Combate brand in new and innovative ways across our Univision platforms. With our audience’s passion for thrilling, live action, Combate has teamed with our portfolio of soccer rights to deliver a powerful one-two punch.  Combate is a fast-ascending property and we are committed to delivering more events from the premier Hispanic MMA franchise to fight fans than ever before.

As part of the rebrand, Combate Global also expressed interest in signing more athletes from beyond the United States and Latin America.  The promotion is known for loading the prelims with local talent that is usually just starting out their careers, with the televised portions featuring longer tenured fighters.  It is unknown what the state of the Combate Global roster is as several fighters such as former champions Rafa Garcia, Gustavo Lopez, and more became free agents in the past year.

More information on the April 9 card is expected to be released in the upcoming days.

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The year 2020 will go down in history for a lot of reasons: a celebrity from the Apprentice was leading one of the most powerful nations in the world, a terrible virus plagued the planet and caused a pandemic, and now it has its next big strange story. UFC Hall of Famer and former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, 45, is beginning his political career, running for Huntington Beach City Council according to TMZ.

The “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has always represented his hometown inside of the cage, and he’s now looking to represent it on the city council. Ortiz officially filed to appear on the November ballot for Huntington Beach city council, where three seats are up for grabs in the next election. Ortiz’s paperwork doesn’t designate a political party, however, he has long been a vocal supporter for current Republican sitting President Donald Trump.

Ortiz had been kicking around the idea of a career change for the last few months, first saying he was going to be a police officer, before deciding to run for public office. The city council is in charge of things including setting policies under which the city will operate, and budgets for city services. The most important detail of this, perhaps, is that the Huntington Beach Mayor is selected yearly from it’s sitting council members.

So hypothetically Ortiz could potentially one day be the mayor of Huntington Beach. However, before he can worry about being called Mayor Ortiz, he would obviously need to win a seat in the city council in November.

Ortiz last competed in MMA in December, defeating former WWE champion Alberto El Patron in Combate Americas inside of the first round. He currently holds a professional record of 21-12-1.

If he wins, Ortiz would one of the few politicians to have MMA experience. Among the most famous of which currently is Sharice Davids, who is currently a Kansas Representative and holds a professional record of 1-1. Internationally, Fedor Emelianenko was elected as deputy of the Belgorod Regional Duma in his native Russia in 2010, and later served as a member of Russia’s Council of Physical Fitness & Sports.

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On Tuesday afternoon, Combate Americas announced that they would be postponing their return to action next month. The promotion had planned their first show since February with the first of three shows on August 28 that were set to be held in Florida. The promotion cited health and safety concerns as the reason for the postponement.

In a statement, Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren wrote:

“This is not a decision we took lightly, and is based entirely on our focus to prioritize the safety of our employees, broadcast partners, fighters and the broader MMA community. We explored many alternatives to avoid this measure, including the possibility of moving our in-studio fights to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the state of California is in a similarly precarious situation with COVID outbreaks, and it seems untenable to proceed without taking into consideration the health of those we love.”

Prior to the postponement, the company had planned to kick off their return with the crowning of a new champion in the flyweight division on August 28 with a fight between Juan Puerta and David Duran. As of two weeks ago, the company had continued to announce fights for thee event with several local fighters being announced for the undercard and the addition of former title challenger Desiree Yanez in the co-main event. Further events had also been planned for September 11 and September 25.

Combate Americas had planned to hold events at a closed studio set in Miami without spectators in attendance. The promotion also stated that they had plans for their Los Angeles based staff to utilize the free testing available in Los Angeles County and to have a private physician on-site to oversee testing in Florida.

Currently, no date for a return has been announced.

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On Tuesday morning, Combate Americas announced that the promotion will be returning with a trio of events on August 28, September 11, and September 25 respectively and crown an inaugural champion in the flyweight division.  Notably, the promotion will be using a closed set studio in Miami to broadcast events without fans in attendance.

Per a press release, the promotion will be having their Los Angeles based staff tested for COVID-19 prior to having them travel to Miami by utilizing the free testing recently made available in Los Angeles County.  The release further states that the promotion has hired a private physician who will administer and oversee testing for all athletes, staff, and officials on-site in Miami.

Regarding the studio, Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren said “As live sports return to television, Combate Americas is going to utilize this closed set studio series to deliver something that fans have never seen before and that will bring them closer than ever to the action from their screens.”  Though no further details were given, it would mean that the promotion is utilizing a unique venue compared to those being used by the UFC and LFA.  While no fans are allowed inside the UFC Apex currently being used in Vegas, the facility does have the capacity for a small audience that has been seen during past seasons of Dana White’s Contender Series.  LFA will be using the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota that has a capacity for just over 3,000 spectators, although their upcoming events are also closed to the public.

Headlining the event on August 28 will be Atlanta’s Juan “Leadfeather” Puerta (18-6) against David “The Farmer of Destruction” Duran (8-6) of California for the inaugural flyweight championship.  Puerta will be making his promotional debut having fought previously in Titan FC and goes into the bout on an eight fight win-streak.  Duran has previously fought in both Bellator and BAMMA USA and is undefeated under the Combate banner with three victories.

Combate Americas put on two events in 2020 prior to the coronavirus pandemic cancelling sporting events across the globe.  Following the fight between Puerta and Duran, the promotion will have three champions with the winner joining featherweight champion Bruno Cannetti and strawweight champion Melissa Martinez.  No further bouts for the newly announced cards have been made official at this time.

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When she’s not belting out tunes, Fulco also trains in MMA — and boyfriend Jesse Strader happens to be a promising knockout artist for Combate Americas.

We caught up with the power couple, virtually of course, to see how things are going during lockdown.

Strader (5-1) was just days away from his next fight for Combate when the proverbial excrement hit the fan. He was planning to fight in Mexico City, when the coronavirus pandemic forced the plug to be pulled.

“I was utterly devastated,” Strader said. “I was on my way, me and her were together actually when my manager called me. Just devastated, man, absolutely devastated. Just in shock, couldn’t believe it. Then the following week, everything was getting cancelled. The NBA, the NHL, everyone was cancelling everything. It kind of made me feel a little bit better, like ‘okay this thing’s really serious, maybe they’re not just messing me over, messing up my grind over here.'”

A lot of time and effort, not to mention money, went into his camp for Mexico City, noted Strader. “Even more so than the other camps, because I was really preparing for the altitude up there in Mexico City.”

Strader, however, has come to terms with it all. “I’ve soaked up the situation, and now I’m ready to get back, get things rolling, and when Combate gets their schedule of events together and figures out a solution, I’ll be ready to go for sure.”

When he does return to the cage, it’s gold that’s on his mind. Strader is coming off two straight knockout wins, and is 3-1 overall for the promotion. “The bantamweight division specifically for Combate Americas, it’s huge, it’s massive, it’s exciting. We’ve got a lot of tough, good opponents,” exclaimed Strader. “But just flat out, I’m the guy for the title next. For sure. 100%.”

As for Fulco, while she trains in MMA, she’s a spectator in her boyfriend’s career. As with many fighting couples, being the spectating half has its ups and downs.

“It’s awful and it’s fantastic at the same time,” she admitted. “His last fight, I actually got to be cageside. So I was right down there. It’s terrifying, because I love him, and I don’t want anybody to hit his pretty little face. But I know the name of the game, I know that’s part of it, and I know also how he is. And I’m so confident in his abilities. I’ve seen him do things that would blow your mind, just in his training.”

Still, there’s that thought: “Just don’t hit him in the face. Don’t hit him.” The nerves, and some prayers, come ahead of her partner’s fights, Fulco added. Ultimately, watching Strader compete is far more nerve wracking than preparing for her performances on The Voice.

“Hands down,” responded Fulco. “I’ve been excited and pumped for being on TV. When I see him, I’m genuinely praying to God that he’s okay.”

Strader admits that when his girlfriend appears on The Voice, he’s a bit of a nervous wreck too. “When she was going on stage for The Voice, I get nervous. It kind of put it in perspective. ‘Oh, is this how you feel?'”

Now, he admits, “I get it.”

Watch our full interview with Joei Fulco and Jesse Strader below!

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Lightweight, Rafa Garcia (12-0)

Rafa Garcia is currently signed to a top promotion in Combate Americas and is their reigning lightweight champion. Garcia is a top prospect out of Mexico who has beat some credible opponents, including former UFC fighters Estevan Payan and Humberto Bandenay. Garcia is a solid wrestler/grappler with an overhand right. He’s not too technical on the feet but Garcia does hit hard, mainly with leg kicks and his right hand. Garcia is really good at executing the single leg takedown and just using his wrestling in general. He has seven wins by submission which is proof that his jiu-jitsu is very solid.

Strawweight, Melissa Martinez (7-0)

While she is very very early in her career at only 22-years-old, Melissa Martinez is a major prospect in the strawweight division. She is currently signed with Combate Americas and is their current 115-pound champion. Martinez has great cardio with her constant footwork and effective side-to-side movement. “Super Melly” has the ability to break an opponent down with her chopping leg kicks. She also displays a quick release with her dangerous head kick that she has won a couple of times with. Martinez puts combinations together with her hands very well and her explosiveness and hand speed are solid.

Lightweight, Daniel Zellhuber (8-0)

At only 20-years-old, there will for sure be way more to learn for Daniel Zellhuber, but at this point in his career, Zellhuber has looked darn good. The Mexican has a tall lanky build at 6’1″being a huge lightweight. While he does use his length at times, he’s more of a Muay Thai fighter. Zellhuber has excellent clinch work with knees and elbows. He has had some problems with his takedown defense though. Still, he does have a decent rubber guard, and is a promising young man with lots of time to develop.

Featherweight, Alejandro Flores (17-2)

Alejandro Flores is a prospect with a good amount of experience, stepping into the cage 19-times. In the last four years, Flores has only lost once. That loss was to a top fighter/prospect in Andrés Quintana, where he was caught early in the fight. Following that loss, Flores won his next two fights. The Mexican native is an action fighter always bringing in all to the table. Flores throws really good long punches and mixes in some excellent leg kicks/body kicks. He’s very technical and can go three rounds no problem, doing it many times in his career.

Bantamweight, Luis Rodríguez (11-1)

Luis Rodriguez is on a seven-fight win streak and is starting to get more well-known to a wider audience. “Lazy Boy” is a diverse striker who will throw a lot flying knees and some nasty elbow strikes. Only one of his fights has gone the distance and when you see him fighting you see why. He’s very aggressive on the feet throwing with some power in his hands while mixing in some very heavy leg kicks. His glaring weakness is his takedown defense but off his back he does well enough to get back to his feet or turn towards his opponents. He’s a striker first but does have decent wrestling and even better is a threat at taking the back.

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This edition of the Weekly MMA Prospect Report, with that in mind, is quite frankly subject to change.

Fury FC 43 | Friday | US

Bantamweight: Leomana Martinez (6-1)

Despite a split-decision loss to Dulani Perry, Leomana Martinez has looked very good. He’s a technically sound kickboxer who has some slick hands as well. “Manaboi” fights behind his leg kicks throwing them often and very hard. He has ended a fight with leg kicks but will mix it up as he holds a head kick knockout as well. Martinez hasn’t spent much time on the mat in his pro career but has three arm-bar wins as an amateur. On the feet, though he’s just so good thanks to his speed, counter ability, power, and excellent accuracy and timing. He fights Peter Caballero (7-4).

Bantamweight: Adrian Yanez (10-3)

Adrian Yanez is a good young talent who has only lost to good fighters and is still only 26. His biggest weakness is his takedown defense. It’s not poor, it just takes him time to stuff shots. He only has two submissions but has some credible BJJ to give guys issues. On the feet is where he wants to be mainly; it’s where all of his finishes have come. Yanez has slick boxing that includes head movement, quick hands, going body-head, and excellent placement. I really like the future of this kid. He fights Ricky Turcios (10-2).

LXF 5 | Friday | US

Featherweight: Melsik Baghdasaryan (4-1)

Melsik Baghdasaryan doesn’t have a lot of MMA experience and his competition has been horrible but the potential is there. Baghdasaryan does have a lot of experience in other combat sports, mainly boxing, and kickboxing. He’s competed in the K-1 Grand Prix, is a former WLF World Kick Boxing Champion, and a 3-0 pro boxer. Losing his pro debut he has won his next four. He has got the job done early with a 7, 14, and 9-second finish. Of course, there is still so much we need to see of him though. He fights Ysidro Gutierrez (5-3).

Bellator 241 | Friday | US

Middleweight: Anatoly Tokov (29-3)

Anatoly Tokov is an excellent prospect out of Russia with an impressive record with plenty of experience. Tokov is 22-1 in his last 24 fights as his only loss is to UFC fighter Ramazan Emeev. He does have wins over solid competition including former champion Alexander Shlemenko. With a background in combat sambo, he is a great wrestler and the ground-and-pound he possesses on top is his best aspect. Tokov has heavy hands and is very aggressive with great cardio. Tokov is a major prospect and a possible future Bellator champion. He fights Fabio Aguiar (17-1).

Welterweight: Robson Gracie Jr. (3-0)

Every MMA fan is familiar with the legendary last name Gracie. More and more it seems like a new Gracie is making a slight name for themselves. Robson Gracie Jr. is, of course, most comfortable on the mat as his BJJ is his specialty. All three of his wins have come by submission and all three are a form of a different sub. The Gracia family is known for their jiu-jitsu and no so much on the feet and it looks like Robson doesn’t have a lot to offer standing. He does have excellent jiu-jitsu but does have a lot to show first. He fights Billy Goff (2-2).

Welterweight: Mark Lemminger (10-1)

Mark Lemminger is a wrestling based fighter, and he’s a high level one at that, excelling on the regional scene. He is a physical powerhouse once he gets control in the clinch. He ragdolls guys, making it look like a professional wrestling match the way he slings opponents around. He doesn’t just rely on strength, on his takedowns he uses solid technique as well including inside trip takedowns, outside trip takedowns, and sweeping the legs out on his opponents – all beautifully done. On top, he has fight-ending ground and pound, staying active and always throwing while keeping full control. On the feet, Lemminger doesn’t usually stay striking, as he usually initiates the clinch, but he is getting better and better. He does hit hard, wobbling and even dropping his opponents, but he needs a lot of refining. He fights Ion Pascu (18-10).

 Combate 57 | Friday | US

Flyweight: Juan Puerta (18-6)

Juan Puerta has had a lot of speed bumps in his career but has now hit his stride and is on a seven-fight win streak, the biggest of his career. On the feet, Puerta uses his range well with jabs and knees. He’s much better on the mat, though, using his length. Puerta is a big submission threat with nearly all his fights going that way. He shows how dangerous he is on the mat with his versatile submission attack holding five different submissions. He fights Ivan Lopez (14-4-1).

AFL 23 | Saturday | Spain

Strawweight: Pierangela Rodriguez Giunta (5-0)

Pierangela Rodriguez Giunta is an all-action type fighter who is a fun one to watch. She badly needs to work on her takedown defense as that is by far her weakest area. Rodriguez loves to just throw her hands. In her constant rapid attack, she does hit hard and is pretty accurate. Her aggressive style is one of the reasons she has a 100% finish rate. She fights Samantha Jean-Francois (3-6).

Caged Steel Contenders 2 | Saturday | UK

Bantamweight: Adam Bramhald (8-2)

Adam Bramhald has some experience in kickboxing going 4-0 in K1. Only losing to good fighters in Luke Shanks and Scott Malone, at just 25, he has a promising future. On the feet, he’s very technical and throws a lot of output. Bramhald is dynamic and does a great job throwing with his punches and kicks. Not the most powerful but has everything else. He fights Francisco Javier Asprilla Martinez (14-13-1).

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Combate Americas sent out a press release Monday afternoon announcing the cancellation of their upcoming events on March 13 (Tucson), March 20 (Mexico City), and March 27 (San Antonio) amid concerns over the coronavirus.  Per a press release, the promotion will reschedule the aforementioned events and will begin holding fights in a closed television studio beginning on April 3.

Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren stated:

“We put the health and safety of our athletes, fans and staff above all other considerations.  Combate Americas’ mission is to bring together people throughout the U.S., Mexico, South America and Spain, and that requires frequent travel to an array of locations, both foreign and domestic.  Our live studio version of Combate Americas will continue to deliver mucha más acción.”

Fans with tickets to the previously scheduled events are entitled to a full refund, per the release.  Notably, the promotion had two title fights scheduled with strawweight champion Melissa “Super Mely” Martinez set to defend her title on March 20 and an interim bantamweight title fight between Andre Barquero and Victor Madrigal on March 27.

As of Monday March 9, major events such as the SXSW event in Texas and the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in California have been cancelled amid coronavirus concern.  The NBA also sent out a notice to teams about the possibility of playing games without fans due to concerns as well.

The news marks the first instance of a major MMA promotion in the United States cancelling events and taking action due to the coronavirus.  On Friday, UFC President Dana White addressed the concerns at a press conference stating:

“When it comes to safety of the athletes and the fans and everything else, no matter where we go or what we do, we’re always concerned.  We’ve been thinking about this for weeks. (UFC) Dr. (Jeffrey) Davidson has been involved. I don’t know what else to say other than that.”

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