LOS ANGELES — The Combate Americas mixed martial arts promotion has rebranded itself as Combate Global and made a new five-year media rights deal with Univision.
The moves were announced Wednesday.
Combate has focused specifically on Hispanic fighters and events since its founding a decade ago, while Univision is the largest provider of Spanish-language media content to U.S. audiences. Combate has aired on Univision’s networks since 2018.
Univision will air 30 live Combate Global events during each year of the new deal, starting April 9.
Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren says he is rebranding his promotion to reflect the addition of fighters from outside the U.S. and Latin America, and to emphasize the importance of competitors fighting for their countries.
As part of the media rights deal, many Combate fight shows will be preceded by high-profile soccer matches. TUDN, Univision’s sports programming division, carries Liga MX matches and many international tournaments.
MMA has yet to match boxing in the overall attention of Latino combat sports fans, but Combate has made steady progress over the past decade anchored in its extensive exposure on Spanish-language U.S. media. Late-night Combate shows have attracted relatively large audiences in the U.S., regularly ranking as the highest-rated Spanish-language programs on television during the time period.
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