Combate Americas has announced that lightweight champion Rafa Garcia will be making the first defense of his title against newly minted Copa Combate winner Humberto Bandenay on February 21 in Mexicali, Mexico at the Auditorio del Estado.

“Gifted” Rafa Garcia is undefeated at 11-0 and will return to the site of his epic victory over Erick “Ghost Pepper” Gonzalez where he claimed the inaugural lightweight championship last September.  A part of the company since 2017, Garcia is one of the top lightweight prospects in the world with victories over Gonzalez, Chase Gibson, and others during his run.  Against Bandenay, Garcia will look to become only the second champion in company history to defend his title following bantamweight champion Gustavo Lopez’s victory over Joey Ruquet in August.

Peru’s Humberto Bandenay was scouted by the promotion and made his debut for the company in the Copa Combate in December.  Bandenay went through the competition with victories over Hugo Prada and Jose Luis Verdugo before colliding with former title challenger Erick Gonzalez in the final.  Bandenay survived a strong third round from Gonzalez to win the tournament and take home the $100k grand prize.  Previously, Bandenay also competed in the UFC before being released last year on a three fight skid.

The complete undercard will be announced as the fight draws closer.

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Luiz Eduardo Garagorri made his UFC debut in Montevideo, putting his perfect 12-0 professional MMA record on the line. The Brazilian-born fighter had already fought twice in 2019, earning a couple of first-round finishes. Fighting out of Uruguay, Garagorri began his trek to MMA by starting in taekwondo as an eight-year-old. He then eventually began to train in kickboxing, muay Thai, and jiu-jitsu. Garagorri was also slated to fight Andre Harrison in May in PFL, but due to an injury to the Brazilian, the bout was cancelled.

Humberto Bandenay fought in South America for the third consecutive time at UFC Uruguay. He was hoping for a different result in Montevideo, after losing his last two bouts. Bandenay had gone 1-2 since joining the promotion in August of 2017, winning his UFC debut via first-round knockout at UFC Mexico City.

Neither fighter landed any major strikes early, with both fighters being patient. Bandenay shot for and landed a takedown after a minute into the round, with Garagorri getting to the cage. Utilizing the cage to get up, Garagorri got the fight to the feet, and then landed a takedown of his own. Garagorri then got to his feet, and waited for the referee to force Bandenay to stand up as well. Once on the feet, Garagorri landed the first major strikes of the night, cutting Bandenay’s forehead after an impressive combination.

Bandenay was able to clinch with Garagorri, and tried to pull guard, but Garagorri stood tall and was well composed. They clinched again, with Bandenay landing a knee to the body, and then eating another flurry of punches from Garagorri. The hometown fighter gave the crowd plenty to be happy about in the first five minutes, clearly leading on the scorecards early.

Both fighters delivered some heavy shots early in round two. A slick combination from Bandenay stunned Garagorri, who responded with a flurry of his own. The combination from Bandenay opened up a cut on the left eyebrow of Garagorri, as the Peruvian attempted to turn the tide. Garagorri replied with a couple of body shots and forcing a clinch against the cage, but the ref would pause action and force the fight to the center of the Octagon.

With less than two minutes left, Garagorri walked Bandenay down, firing and landing throughout. Once again clinched against the cage, the duo traded positions, and Garagorri landed a heavy elbow as they separated. The final seconds of the second round ticked away as Bandenay landed a solid takedown.

Garagorri continued to be the more aggressive fighter early in the third round, throwing a couple of flurries and stuffing a takedown attempt. But Bandenay would eventually get the fight to the ground, taking Garagorri down from the clinch. Bandenay attempted to take Garagorri’s back, but would lose position as the fight was once again in the clinch against the cage. After being forced back to the center by the referee, Bandenay once again pushed Garagorri to the cage and got the fight back into the clinch.

At the 90-second mark, the fight was back in the middle of the Octagon, with the fighters trading blows. The restless crowd implored the fighters to go for the finish, as they kept up their impressive pace from the rest of the fight throughout the final minute. Garagorri stuffed another takedown attempt, then the duo fired flurries at each other as the horn sounded.

They're swinging in Montevideo!#UFCUruguay pic.twitter.com/ohzRBReAQL

— UFC (@ufc) August 11, 2019

Result: Luiz Eduardo Garagorri def. Humberto Bandenay by unanimous decision (30-27×3)

Check out all of the results from UFC Uruguay here!

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The UFC is coming to Montevideo, Uruguay, on August 10, touching down in the South American nation for the first time. The event will be held in the Antel Arena, a brand new venue opened in November of last year. The show is headlined by flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, defending her title against Liz Carmouche. That’s a rare title fight for a Fight Night card.

In addition to the championship fight, UFC Uruguay features many rising stars, and four debuts. One of those debuts being Luiz Eduardo Garagorri, who will debut against Humberto Bandenay (14-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC).

5’11″
Featherweight
30-years-old
Uruguay/Brazil
Sok Thai
12-0
4 KO/TKO
6 Submissions

How will Garagorri fare in the UFC:

This is a hometown signing — the promotion looked at his record, but were mainly interested because Garagorri lives in Uruguay. A closer look at the footage, however, shows he’s nowhere near UFC level at this point. Garagorri has finished on both the feet and the mat. On the feet, he likes to throw the wheel kick which he has landed many times in his career. He relies mainly on his counter striking and his flurries. He’s very wild though, and lacks angles and technical ability. His takedown defense is lackluster, being taken down by poor competition and off his back, he struggles as well. Another flaw in his game is his cardio, which seems to be a question mark.

How does Garagorri match up with Bandenay:

Humberto Bandeday, after stunning everyone with a head kick finish in his UFC debut, has struggled in his last two outings. Another loss, and he may no longer be a UFC fighter. Bandenay’s recent record isn’t great, but he’s fought and beat the better competition. The pick is Bandenay, as it’s really a fade on Garagorri.

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Austin Arnett was back in action on Saturday, looking to claim his first UFC win while on the road at UFC Argentina. Opposite him, Humberto Bandenay of Peru, who in two octagon appearances had spent less than a minute in the cage. Bendenay was coming off a win, however, and like Arnett, was hoping to get back on track in Buenos Aires.

The featherweight action started with Arnett focusing on movement, while Bandenay fired off a kick. Arnett would move in with a left, to be met with a kick again. Another leg kick for Bandenay followed, and he’d make it out of the first minute for the first time in his UFC career. Arnett was using his lateral movement, but ate a big kick off a combination by Bandenay. Arnett fired back, charging forward. He’d then close the distance, pressing Bandenay into the fence. Bandeway worked free, and went back to his kicks. Bandenay would later dump Arnett but not follow him down. In the final minute, a body kick hurt Arnett, and several more blows, but it was Arnett throwing Bandenay down at the end of the frame.

Arnett clinched early in round two, working in knees on Bandenay as the Peruvian had his back on the fence. Bandenay simply couldn’t reverse for long or push off, but took a low knee, which earned him a reprieve. A bit of a scramble when they restarted saw Arnett off-balance, he recovered, but Bandenay later caught him as he was dropping down with a kick. Arnett against drove Bandenay into the fence, but Bandenay was able to control a wrist and keep an overhook with his other arm to prevent Arnett from doing any damage. Bandenay was showing signs of fatigue, however, mouth open, an important factor given his last two fights were over in under a minute. Bandenay would score a late takedown, with Arnett defending via guillotine.

Between rounds, Arnett’s corner told him it was 1-1 heading into the third. Bandenay’s corner appeared to agree. He was active in the third, staying busy against a tiring Bandenay. It was a one-sided sound, with Arnett connecting with body kicks, landing a takedown, and finishing on top firing punches. That led to a 10-8 round on two scorecards, and Austin Arnett securing his first UFC win!

Closing the final frame STRONG!

Did @AustinArnettMMA do enough to get the win? #UFCArgentina pic.twitter.com/rbjO129k2S

— UFC (@ufc) November 18, 2018

Austin Arnett def. Humberto Bandeday by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)

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The UFC’s first trip to Chile got underway Saturday, with the usual four-pack of preliminary fights airing on Fox Sports. Opening up the televised card of UFC Chile, Gabriel Benitz took on Humberto Bandenay in featherweight action. It was a fight that was over almost before it began, and in rather impressive fashion no less.

Off the opening bell, Benitez immediately stormed out of the gate and knocked down Humberto Bandenay with a solid punch that connected clean. Once dropped, Benitez pounced, while Bandenay twisted and turned looking to recover.

WHAT. A. START. #UFCChile pic.twitter.com/u6DoQJEnvI

— UFC (@ufc) May 20, 2018

Bandenay would try to trap Benitez in an arm-bar next, but that would lead to the end of the bout. Gabriel Benitez was able to hoist his opponent up and slam him down, scoring the slam KO in the process! Follow up punches were barely necessary, and it was all over in under a minute. It was an incredible finish and an incredibly short fight. With the win, he improves to 5-2 in the UFC, and has now won two straight.

Gabriel Benitez def. Humberto Bandenay by knockout (slam and punches), Round 1, 0:39

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VISA issues have thwarted Humberto Bandenay’s sophomore UFC fight, at least for now. As a result, he’s off of UFC Austin, where he had been expected to face promotional newcomer Steven Peterson at featherweight. In his place steps Brandon Davis, who will look to put a loss in his own debut behind him. Davis confirmed an earlier report by MMA-Today on Friday.

Peterson (16-6) will be making his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 126, as UFC Austin is officially known. He enters the night off a win over Dustin Winter at LFA 28 in December. Prior to that, ‘Ocho’ had appeared on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, losing a split decision to Benito Lopez. Overall, Peterson is 8-2 in his last ten fights.

Brandon Davis made his promotional debut earlier this year at UFC 220, where he lost a unanimous decision to Kyle Bochniak. A fellow DWTNCS veteran, Davis (8-3) had a seven fight win streak snapped with the loss.

UFC Fight Night 126 takes place February 18 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX. Peterson vs. Davis will serve as the UFC Fight Pass featured prelim.

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Martin Bravo makes his return to the Octagon at UFC Mexico City nine months after his last bout. Bravo was crowned the winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 after displaying great striking against Claudio Puelles, knocking him out in the second round last November.

Humberto Bandenay is a Peruvian prospect who has finished 10 of his 13 career victories. The featherweight is on a five-fight win streak heading into his promotional debut, stopping his opponent in each of those contests.

Bravo opened up the fight with a head kick that missed, then ate a leg kick from Bandenay. Bravo came up short with a leg kick and Bandenay answered with a body kick. Once Bravo guarded against the body kick, Bandenay went high with a kick that connected flush and knocked Bravo out clean.

Humberto Bandenay was the biggest underdog on the card and proved the bookies wrong in just 26 seconds. Bandenay aimed to put Peru on the map in his UFC debut and succeeded with flying colors. Bandenay is not one-dimensional either. The Peruvian featherweight has five submissions under his belt along with his six knockouts.

Martin Bravo now has a loss on his record and will most likely be held out of action for a good period of time. Martin Bravo is one of the shining prospects of Mexico and will hopefully be able to channel what brought him to the Octagon in his next bout.

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