Upstart MMA promotion Combate Americas returned for its second event of 2017 on Thursday night at the Burbank Convention Center in Burbank, California. The event took a huge blow after the proposed main event was called off when Kyra Batara failed to make the atomweight limit of 105-pounds at Wednesday’s official weigh-ins. Batara has been positioned as the company’s breakout star and not having her on one of the first major cards of the year definitely stung the organization but the show must go on. A lightweight bout between Danny Ramirez and Erick Gonzalez was put in the main event spot and delivered a fight worthy of the main event spot.

Combate Americas 11 Main Card Results:

Lightweight Bout- Danny Ramirez def. Erick Gonzalez via unanimous decision

Two fighters out of Los Angeles served as the night’s headlining attraction. The fight immediately goes to the ground and both men scramble to get back to their feet. The crowd is into this fight and you can tell both fighters are feeding off the energy in the room to start this bout. As the first round progresses it is Ramirez’ grappling that is getting the best of Gonzales. Ramirez is able to control the movement of Gonzales and whenever Gonzales tries to get back to his feet Ramirez brings him back down to the canvas.

Ramirez starts to show more dominance with his grappling in the second round. Gonzales manages to get back to his feet and the fight remains there for the remainder of the round. Gonzales lands some significant strikes as Ramirez looks to be a little drained.

The final round saw Ramirez control the beginning of the round with is takedowns but Gonzales manages to escape and get to his feet. Gonzales then begins to stalk down a clearly tired Ramirez. Gonzales continues to put the pressure and land strikes on Ramirez. Gonzales lands a short elbow that drops Ramirez for a second. Ramirez regains himself and goes for another takedown. The action continues as both me feed off the excitement of the crowd. Ramirez lands one final takedown before the bell sounds ending the fight.

Lightweight Bout- Jose Estrada def. George Hernandez via submission in Round 1 at 2:09

Estrada takes the center of the cage and pushes Hernandez to the fence. Hernandez pushes back and goes in for the clinch and gets Estrada up against the cage. Estrada regains control and takes Hernandez down to the ground. Estrada survives a kimura attempt and gains side control. He positions himself to get the back of Hernandez and is successful. He sinks in the rear naked choke and forces Hernandez to tap out in the very first round.

Featherweight Bout- Andres Quintana def. Erick Sanchez via unanimous decision

Sanchez presses the pace and forces Quintana up against the fence. The two men separate and exchange blows. Both men are content with standing and trading shots. Quintana switches levels but Sanchez is able to land a few body shots. The two again meet in the middle of the cage and exchange. Neither fighter is landing the power shot but Quintana is moving more to avoid the big strike. The round ends with a flurry of strikes from both men. Quintana lands a knee before the bell.

The fight continues the same pace of both men trading shots. Quintana uses head movement and bounces in and of Sanchez’ range. Quintana level switching is working as Sanchez has more than a few swing and misses. Sanchez charges in and lands a few punches and back Quintana to the cage. The two fighters again trade hard shots in the middle of the cage in the final seconds of the round. Sanchez pushes Quintana against the cage as the bell sounds ending the second round.

As the third round begins both men still look fresh. Sanchez takes control of the center of the cage but Quintana is able to dodge the big blows. Quintana continues his movement and is able to make Sanchez miss the big strikes but Sanchez lands one and sends Quintana to the cage. Sanchez lands a big overhand right and follows it up with more strikes before the round ends.

Preliminary Card Results:

Flyweight Bout: Albert Tapia def. Benji Gomez via split decision

Back and forth action to start the round. Tapia is the aggressor and Gomez looks for the right counter. Tapia misses with a head kick. Gomez lands a few jabs. Both fighters have yet to find their range as the midpoint of the round comes and goes.

Tapia and Gomez both have a lot of movement and neither men are able to connect with anything really impactful. Tapia is clearly the more aggressive fighter  but is having a hard time landing anything at all. Tapia goes in for the takedown and gets it with ease. Gomez traps Tapia’s head but runs out of time to put Tapia in any real danger.

Gomez starts the third more aggressively than the previous two rounds. He chases Tapia all over the cage but cannot catch up to him. Tapia lands a single leg takedown but Gomez is quick to get back up. Tapia goes in for another takedown but Gomez stuff it. Tapia goes for it again and this time it lands. He takes Gomez’ back and looks for the rear naked choke. Gomez uses the cage to get back to his feet but Tapia is hanging on him the entire time. Gomez escapes and chases down Tapia and scores a takedown of his own before the final bell.

Flyweight Bout- Heinrich Wassmer def. Heber Castillo via submission in Round 1 at 4:57

Fast paced action kicks off the first round with Castillo landing a few leg kicks. Wassmer misses a spinning back kick and Castillo takes control on the ground. Castillo almost gets Wassmer caught in a twister but lets it go in favor of the full mount. Wassmer is able to turn it around and get Castillo’s back and goes for a rear naked choke. Castillo gives up his back as Wassmer sinks his hooks and starts to throw punches to the side of Castillo’s head. Wassmer works his way into an armbar right as the signal of for the final 10-seconds of the round goes off. Castillo cannot hold on and taps with only second left in the round.

Catchweight at 108lbs. – Alyssa Garcia def. Kaiyana Rain via split decision

Garcia takes Rain to the mat and is in her guard a few moments into the fight. Rain goes for a heel hook but Garcia turns out of it and gains side control. Garcia moves to the full mount and lands small punches and elbows for the remainder of the round.

The two fighters exchange strikes to start the second round. Garcia lands a nice knee to Rain’s midsection. The second round has a much different tone from the first as both women seem comfortable standing and exchanging blows. Rain maintains control of the center of the cage while Garcia circles looking for the right openings. After a brief tie up in the cage both women separate and trade more shots in the center of the cage. Garcia has more movement than Rain but did not land any real damaging shots.

Garcia shows a little more aggression as the third round opens up. She and Rain continue to exchange until Garcia decides to take it to mat. Garcia scores the easy takedown and maintains control as Rain tries to lock her leg. The referee decides to stand the fighters up and Rain immediately goes on the offense throwing wild punches in hopes of landing. The bell sounds before any real damage is done.

Lightweight Bout – Rudy Morales def. Izic Fernandez via unanimous decision

Fernandez quickly goes for the takedown but is unsuccessful and can only push Morales to the fence. After a few moments the two separate and trades punches. Fernandez pushes Morales back up against the fence where the two exchange knees. One of Morales’ knees hits below the belt and time is called by the referee. After a long break the action resumes with Morales pressing but the bell sounds before any real damage can be done.

The second round starts with Morales landing some hard shots to the face of Fernandez.  Morales stalks down Fernandez and lands a few more hard shots. Fernandez circles on the outside trying to avoid any significant strikes. Morales continues to land hard strikes but cannot follow them up with any sort of combination.

Morales starts the third round by landing a few jabs and a front kick. Morales continues to stalk Fernandez and lands a nice head kick that sends him backing. Morales lands a few more jabs but no real damage is down. Both men stand in the middle of the cage but are tentative to put together any combinations. Fernandez lands a kick that catches Morales in the groin and the fight is stopped once again. The fight resumes but it is more of the same with Morales stalking Fernandez but not putting together any combinations.

Lightweight Bout- Javier Garcia def. Donte Stubbs via submission in Round 3 at 0:58

The two local Southern California fighters start off the show with a feeling out process. After the two trade leg kicks Garcia goes in for the takedown but Stubbs is able to stuff it. Garcia gets it to the ground and the two jockey for position. Garcia gets the full mount but lands a 12 to 6 elbow and is warned by the referee. The fight is stopped and the two fighters are brought back to their feet. It quickly goes back down to the ground where the two agains trade positions. Garcia end the round with a rear naked choke but does not have enough time to sink it in.

The second round begins with Stubbs missing a wild right hand. Garcia once again goes for the takedown and after a few failed shake off attempts he gets Stubbs down. Garcia works for the rear naked choke but switches to the full mount. Stubbs is able to switch Garcia over and gain the full mount but does not land any real significant strikes. Garcia is able to escape and regain control and lands in Stubb’s guard. Garcia throws punches and gets caught in an armbar attempt by Stubbs. He is able to escape and ends the round on top of Stubbs.

The third round starts almost identical to the second. Stubbs misses with a wild right but recovers and takes Garcia down to the mat but the two end up in a north south position. Garcia quickly gets the back of Stubbs and sinks in a rear naked choke for the submission win.