Combate Americas postpones return to live fights because of COVID-19 outbreak

NEW YORK – JULY 22, 2020 – Combate Americas, the premier Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts franchise, announced on Tuesday it will indefinitely postpone its slate of fights due to an unexpected spike in COVID-19 cases.  The company had previously announced a series starting with three, bi-weekly in-studio events beginning on August 28. 

In partnership with its broadcast partner Univision, Combate was planning a concept of fights with high quality production values, but no fans in the stands.  This plan was created in acknowledgement of the health risks associated with large gatherings, and was aimed to preserve fan excitement while prioritizing safety.  Unfortunately, the pandemic has since worsened, and the epicenter for virus cases is Florida where the events were set to take place.  

“I am truly disappointed with having to postpone our return to live action, which our loyal fans had been eagerly anticipating.  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,” said Campbell McLaren, CEO and Co-Founder of Combate Americas.

“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.  We look forward to Combate’s return to live action, and will be announcing details at a later date.”

---

TRENDING > Georges St-Pierre responds to Kamaru Usman callout

---

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Combate Americas began the year with a world championship event that, in its midnight ET time slot, garnered 511,000 live Univision viewers and 2.2 million live Televisa Canal 5 viewers.  In 2019, Combate Americas averaged over 417,000 live Univision viewers at midnight ET, and over 1.7 million live Televisa Canal 5 viewers.