Preview CG2021 November 12 USA vs Mexico Tournament

Miami, FL– One man will have the opportunity to hoist his country’s flag proudly in Combate Global’s USA vs Mexico one-night, eight men tournament.

The tournament, taking place November 12, will take place on the 28^th anniversary of the creation of the sport.

The winners of the two quarter final stage bouts between U.S. fighters will meet in the semifinal stage, while the victors of the two quarter final stage fights between Mexican athletes will meet in the semi final phase. The event will conclude with a U.S. vs. Mexico showdown in the championship stage of action.

The tournament’s quarterfinal stage bouts and semifinal stage bouts will each consist of one, five-minute round, and the championship stage bout will consist of three, five-minute rounds. The four men representing Mexico include Patrick Lehane (3-0), Cristian Perez (6-0), Daniel Soto (15-5) and Hugo Flores (9-3), while Jim Alers (14-4), Enrique Gonzalez (9-4), Jimmy Sandlin (4-3) and Samuel Alvarez (5-4) will wear the USA colors.

In case of participant injury, Mikey Gonzalez (7-2) will meet Jake Childers (8-2) and Rodolfo Reseck (3-0) faces Alfrego Ruelas (2-1). The winners of the alternate bouts will step in the tournament in case of an injury.

Let’s preview the participants.

USA  

Enrique Gonzalez

Fresh off a victory against Jean Marc Howell in September, Gonzalez, fighting out of Illinois, returns to action in the tournament to represent the red, white and blue.

Gonzalez makes his fourth Combate Global appearance. He is 2-1 in la jaula. In June of 2019, he defeated Alejandro Martinez by way of split decision and in September he won by way of ground and pound.

The Valle Flow Striking (VFS) standout, has a great stand up game and will search for the quick knockout. His teammate, Hugo Flores is also in the tournament and is representing Mexico. He said he hopes to meet him in the finals.

However, he has a significant opponent in the quarter finals competing against the seasoned Jim “The Beast” Alers.

Jim Alers

Alers is the fighter with the most experience, however, it is his first tournament he competes in. He spent two years in the UFC going 1-2. His last MMA fight was in 2018, but he ventured into Bareknuckle boxing and went 4-1 with three knockout wins.

Since November 2020, he has competed in several jiu jitsu competitions, where he has had success.

The second-degree black belt Brazilian jiu jitsu expert, who has a degree in education, will count on his experience.

A matchup between him and Perez in the finals should be an experience pitting two well versed jiu jitsu artists.

Samuel Alvarez

Alvarez returns to la jaula since he competed in 2019. His last fight was in May when he lost by decision. He is undefeated in Combate Global with two wins, one by unanimous decision and by way of rear naked choke.

The jiu jitsu brown belt fighter has been training for the tournament by working heavily on his cardio. Look for him to make use of his jab as he is confident with it.

The well-rounded fighter is going up against a game wrestler in Jimmy Sandlin, who is coming off a split decision defeat, in a scrap which could be a potential fight of the year candidate.

Alvarez should use his jab to push Sandlin away and prevent him to shoot for the takedown.

Jimmy Sandlin

In a back-and-forth fight with Carlos Arana in August, Sandlin took note of his mistakes in a fight where both foes brought every sole of their being performing an exciting fight in la jala.

Sandlin said he has been pushing himself with his cardio and sharpening his striking attacks and defenses in an effort to win it all.

The Limestone University wrestler can take punches, but for the tournament that won’t work well since he needs to conserve his energy and  body.

Mexico

Cristian Perez

The submission artist has competed in la jaula since the start of his professional career. His past four victories have all ended in the first round with his latest victory coming in September when he submitted veteran Dumar Roa in the first round at 3:30.

Since he moved to Miami to train with the GOAT Shed Academy, his wrestling has been game making it effortlessly for him to take down his opponents and search for a submission.

But, his hands have improved and become technical.

He faces a fierce Daniel Soto, who hasn’t competed since March of 2020 and is in search of a victory.

Daniel Soto

Soto winning the tournament will cement his mma career. He has not competed since March 2020 due to the pandemic. The Mexican will make his jaula debut and faces a heavy favorite in Perez.

Ironically, Soto’s last fight was a submission defeat by Roa. However, Perez can’t underestimate his opponent. Soto is coming in hungry for a win. Majority of his wins come by way of decision. He does have a TKO victory.

Soto, who trains with Factory X in Colorado, needs to be cool, calm and collective if he wants to move to the semi-finals. He’ll have to lean on his footwork to prevent Perez entering for a takedown. He must also abstain from a punching exchange war as Perez is accurate.

The more he moves and cut corners, the better the odds are for him to defeat Perez.

Patrick Lehane

Born in Ireland but representing Mexico after applying for his citizenship from the North American country, Lehane will make his second appearance this year in a tournament.

Back in August, he was part of Combate Global’s first ever European tournament in his professional MMA debut which he won. In September, he defeated Isaac Ruelas by way of split decision.

Lehane has incredible footwork and fast-paced hands that can puzzle any opponent. Aside from his quickness, he also has great takedown defense, but look for surprises such as spinning back elbows and more.

He might have been born in Ireland, but he fights like a Mexican and he will need it since he is competing against Hugo Flores.

Hugo Flores

Flores, who trains out of VFS like Gonzalez, counts on his striking which could make for an exciting five minutes of the quarter finals when he faces Lehane.

He is coming off a split decision victory against Alexander Torres back in July, when he made his debut in la jaula.

He has hands and will push the pace in a fight. He’ll need it against Lehane. If we have an exchange bout between Flores and Lehane this bout could be a chess match.