Combate Americas on Saturday held its first “Copa Combate” -- a one-night tournament with a unique set of rules in which the promotion’s best bantamweights competed against each other for a $100,000 grand prize. During the broadcast, there was talk that there would be another “Copa Combate” in Spain in 2018. Combate Americas President Campbell McLaren co-founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship 24 years ago, and many fight fans mark UFC 1 as the beginning of the sport we now know as mixed martial arts.
The UFC began with a tournament format that has faded over the years, but when the conditions are right and situations call for them, tournaments are the best way to identify top contenders and fill title vacancies.