NEW YORK – October 7, 2016 – Combate Americas today announced the addition of three bouts, including a welterweight (170 pounds) contest between Victor “Kelevra” Reyna (8-2) and battle-tested veteran Marc Stevens (20-10) to the league’s first world championship fight card in history and first-ever event in New York State at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona on Friday, Oct. 14, live on UFC FIGHT PASS®.
The new matchups will precede the much-anticipated, world bantamweight (135 pounds) championship showdown between red-hot stars John “Sexy Mexy” Castaneda (11-2) of Mankato, Minn. and Gustavo Lopez (6-1) of Las Vegas, Nev. via Yakima, Wash.
In another welterweight contest, upstarts James Rodriguez (0-0) and Alex Henry (1-0) will go head-to-head.
In a bantamweight contest, Blackzilians team member and rising star Irwin “The Beast” Rivera will take on Jose Ceja (3-2) in a rematch to a memorable see-saw battle that Rivera won by way of third round (4:45) submission (rear-naked choke) in March.
On Tuesday, October 11th, just three days before his featured bout, Marc Stevens, welterweight fighter and former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter®, will be hosting a workout session from 7-8pm at his American Top Team gym in Watertown, N.Y. The event is open to the public for anyone to attend.
Victor Reyna vs. Marc Stevens
The 5-foot-5, 30-year-old Reyna out of Dallas, Texas, will look to achieve his fourth straight victory after a earning a split decision against Evan Cutts in June.
Prior to his victory in June, Reyna’s previous two wins were by way of TKO (punches) on Keyon Mike Jackson and Andrew Parker, respectively.
The 5-foot-9, 31-year-old Stevens of Lorriane, N.Y. is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt as well as seasoned Muay Thai competitor who, as a cast member on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, scored the quickest knockout in the show’s history at the time – a 13 second stoppage of T.J. O’Brien.
Irwin Rivera vs. Jose Ceja
Fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla., the home of the Blackzilians fight squad, the 5-foot-6, 27-year-old Rivera, who will make his debut under the promotion of Combate Americas, was raised in New Windsor, N.Y. after being born in Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico.
He jump-started his professional career with a split decision victory over Andre Cuff on November 7, 2014, and ran to three consecutive wins thereafter.
Coming off of an injury that resulted in a two-year break following a loss to Rivera in March, the 5-foot-7, 31-year-old Ceja from Houston, Texas is coming back ready to defeat Rivera.
James Rodriguez vs. Alex Henry
Fighting out of Binghamton, N.Y. the 6-foot-7, 29-year-old Rodriguez, will make his professional debut under the promotion of Combate Americas after posting a near-perfect amateur record of 3-1.
Henry, the 6-foot-0, 27-year-old Ithaca, N.Y. and a member of Team Bombsquad, is coming off his first professional win against Andrew Tripp. Henry has a perfect record of 6-0 since beginning his amateur career in 2013.
A nationally recognized venue for legendary, fight-of-the-year-level boxing events, Turning Stone Resort Casino will now become one of the very first venues in New York to host professional MMA fights. With a legacy of hosting some of the best events in the country, rivaling many venues in major cities such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City and New York City, Turning Stone has established Upstate New York as a premier destination for live sporting events. Turning Stone is an award-winning destination resort, offering world-class amenities including four hotels, more than 20 restaurants and dining options, two luxurious spas, a 125,000 square foot Las Vegas style gaming floor, a cabaret-style Showroom, a 5,000 seat arena, five pristine golf courses, several bars, cocktail lounges and nightlife venues.
Tickets for “Combate Americas: Empire Rising” are on sale and can be purchased at the Turning Stone Box Office, by calling 877.833.SHOW, or online at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets are priced at $75, for cageside, $65, $50 and $35, and may be subject to additional fees. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the event, and the first preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m.
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About Turning Stone Resort Casino
A renowned, award-winning destination resort in Upstate New York, the Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino features world-class amenities including four hotels, two luxurious spas, five golf courses, more than 20 dining options, a 125,000 square foot Las Vegas-style gaming floor, a cabaret style Showroom, a 5,000 seat arena, and several nightlife venues. Conveniently located 30 miles east of Syracuse at NYS Thruway exit 33, Turning Stone was named “Best Countryside Hotel/Lodge” in 2015 and “Most Excellent Golf Resort” in 2010 by Condé Nast Johansens and the Academy of Country Music named Turning Stone “Casino of the Year” in 2009. Turning Stone has also earned the prestigious Forbes Four-Star Award for The Lodge, Forbes Recommended Ratings for TS Steakhouse and Wildflowers restaurant and, for 10 consecutive years, the AAA Four Diamond Award for The Lodge, The Tower Hotel, and Wildflowers restaurant. For more information and reservations, call (315) 361-7711 or (800) 771-7711. Visit the web site www.turningstone.com.
ABOUT COMBATE AMERICAS
Combate Americas, LLC. is the first U.S. Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise in history, designed to build Latino fighting champions and serve Hispanic fans, one of the world’s most avid groups of prize fighting enthusiasts. The Combate Americas franchise includes reality TV programming, live events and mobile programming. The company’s CEO, Campbell McLaren, is universally recognized as the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). New York Magazine described McLaren as “the marketing genius behind the UFC” and Yahoo! Sports proclaimed that he “knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today.” With an unprecedented product and a blue-chip ownership and management team, Combate Americas is poised to break new ground and bring about a new era in world championship level MMA competition.
About UFC®
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Singapore, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell-out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in over 156 countries and territories to more than 1.1 billion TV households worldwide in 29 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.
