Rafa Garcia to defend Combate Americas lightweight title against Humberto Bandenay

Combate Americas’ lightweight champion Rafa Garcia has his first title defense booked against Humberto Bandenay.

[autotag]Rafa Garcia[/autotag] will make his first Combate Americas title defense next month.

The undefeated Mexican fighter will take on former UFC fighter and 2019 Copa Combate tournament winner [autotag]Humberto Bandenay[/autotag] on Feb. 21 in Mexicali, Mexico. The bout will serve as the main event of the card.

The news was announced by the promotion Monday.

Garcia (11-0 MMA) won the inaugural Combate Americas 155-pound title in September at Combate Americas 44 with a unanimous decision win over Erick Gonzalez. The 25-year-old Garcia has been competing for Combate Americas since 2017 and has compiled a record of 7-0 in the promotion.

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The man challenging for the belt, Bandenay (18-7 MMA), is coming off the 2019 Copa Combate one-night tournament, which went down in December. The Peruvian fighter went 3-0 to win the tournament and the $100,000 prize. Bandenay is on a four-fight win streak, which comes after an 0-3 run which led to his UFC release.

No other matchups were announced for the card, but the promotion expects to make more announcements in the near future.

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