Pa Lehane steps in on short notice for one night tournament

Combate Global today announced a new twist to its ‘USA vs. Mexico’ one-night, eight-man, lightweight (155 pounds) Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament, with undefeated Irishman Patrick “La Sanguijuela” Lehane (3-0) stepping in to represent Mexico in the event on Friday, Nov. 12, live on Paramount+ from Miami, Fla.
 
The 22-year-old Lehane of Cork, Ireland replaces original tournament entrant, Tijuana, B.C. resident Miguel “The Destroyer” Villegas, who has withdrawn from the commitment due to an injury sustained in training camp.
 
In the spirit of representing Mexico in the tournament, Lehane, who spent two weeks in Mexico City preparing for his Combate Global debut on August 1, and is applying for his Mexican citizenship, has adopted the Spanish translation of his nickname, “The Leech.”
 
“The famous Mexican singer Chavela Vargas once said ‘A Mexican is born wherever the heck he wants to be born,’” stated Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren.  “Although he was born and raised in Ireland, Patrick Lehane has shown this year that he fights like a Mexican, embraced Mexican culture and even gone as far as applying for his citizenship in Mexico, so he’s taking the baton from our injured Mexican fighter and will represent Mexico in this tournament that is destined to deliver Much More Action.”
 
With Lehane’s entry into the tournament, the matchups in the Mexico bracket have been adjusted so that Lehane will face Hugo “The Hooligan” Flores (9-3) of Guadalajara, J.L. via Chicago, Ill.
 
Originally slated to face off with Villegas, undefeated Cristian “Puas” Perez (6-0) of Ensenada, B.C. will battle Daniel “Scrappy” Soto (15-5) of Ciudad Jimenez, Chih. via Ephraim, Utah.
 
A veteran of 14 amateur bouts, Lehane made his professional debut as well as his promotional debut on August 1, defeating two veteran opponents with a combined two dozen professional bouts, in one night to win the first-ever Combate Global one-night European tournament.
 
Just six weeks after pulling off the shocking tournament victory, Lehane returned to Combate Global action, edging out a split decision win over Mexico’s Isaac Ruelas in an all-out war on September 10.
 
Announced last week, the U.S. tournament bracket which pits Jim “The Beast” Alers (14-4) of Pembroke Pines, Fla. against Enrique “Baby Bull” Gonzalez (9-4) of Chicago and Samuel “The Alley Cat” Alvarez (5-4) of Manteca, Calif. against Jimmy “Sandstorm” Sandlin (4-3) of Carlisle, Ohio in the quarterfinal stage of competition, remains the same.
 
The winners of the two quarterfinal stage bouts between U.S. fighters will meet in the semifinal stage, while the victors of the two quarterfinal stage fights between Mexican athletes will meet in the semifinal 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.
 
In a non-tournament women’s strawweight (115 pounds) matchup announced last week, Melissa Amaya (1-0) of Spokane, Wash. will collide with Andrea Amaro (1-1) of El Paso, Texas.
 
Paramount+ live coverage on Friday will begin with a Combate Global pre-show at 9:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. CT, and will continue with the live fight action, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. CT.