Combate Americas 42: Tahoe Odds & Preview

• Combate Americas 42 goes Friday, August 23rd at 9:00 pm EST
• Who will become the first featherweight champion in Combate Americas history?
• Can Lopez make his first title defense or will Ruquet avenge a loss while capturing gold?

Combate Americas 42 hails from Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena at Harvey’s in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. A pair of bantamweight and featherweight championship fights are the headliners. These titles will be contested during Gustavo Lopez vs. Joey Ruquet II and Andrés Quintana vs. Bruno Cannetti II, respectively.

Both of these fights are rematches which adds a redemptive quality to bouts where fighters are already seeking the glory of leaving with a title. Much like previous events, the prelims will be streamed on the Combate Americas Facebook page with the main card broadcast on DAZN. The fight odds and bout breakdowns for these tilts can be found below.

Ruquet vs Lopez Odds

*Odds taken 08/19/19

This bout tops the marquee and there are many analytical tendrils to this rematch. Lopez has been a stalwart for years with Combate, overcame a couple of stumbles, and now finally seems poised to jettison towards superstar status. I think Lopez has the accomplishments, skills, and strength of schedule to get the W here.

Combate seems to see a lot in Gustavo Lopez and presumably wants to position him as one of their featured fighters. I think a big win at Combate Americas 42 can do that for Gustavo Lopez.

Lopez Goes 2-0 Against Ruquet

Since then, Ruquet went 5-1 and Lopez would eventually win bantamweight gold after two failed bids for the championship. Third time was the charm and Lopez scored the title in his last fight and will now defend it against a familiar opponent.

During Combate Americas' first visit to Mexico, Gustavo Lopez headlined the event with a vibrant win. Don't miss his first world championship defense on August 23.#CombateTahoe #LopezRuquet pic.twitter.com/5Qx9TOiPMX

— Combate Global (@combateglobal) August 14, 2019

The follow-up bout has been almost four years in the making. Ruquet lost via second-round arm-triangle choke against Lopez back at Combate Americas: Road to the Championship 2. He believes the first bout wasn’t an accurate reflection of his skills. Joey Ruquet took that first bout without a great deal of notice and while going through a myriad of significant issues in his personal life.

Ruquet vs Lopez Tale of the Tape

All that being said, I’m going with Lopez at Combate Americas 42.

Pick: Lopez (-500)

Cannetti vs Quintana Odds

This bout is for the inaugural 145 lb title in Combate Americas and represents another rematch on the card with a title up for grabs. The featherweight championship bout was initially supposed to go in late-June, the event was canceled, and this fight was pushed to Combate Americas 42. I think Quintana goes up to 2-0 over Cannetti on Friday night.

Quintana Captures Gold at Combate Americas 42

In their first fight, Quintana defeated Cannetti via first-round KO as part of a one-night tournament Combate did in December. Quintana advanced from that bout to score yet another highlight-reel finish that would net him the tournament victory putting him at 3-0 in a single night.

Copa Combate 2 results: Andres Quintana wins tournament with spinning elbow KO in R1,
earns 100K pic.twitter.com/jfdwKGQJZK

— World of MMA (@CM_fights) December 8, 2018

This is Quintana’s first fight back since that Copa Combate run. For Cannetti, he’s getting back in there for the immediate rematch as his last fight was that aforementioned losing bid against Quintana.

Cannetti vs Quintana Tale of the Tape

Unless Cannetti somehow makes dramatic adjustments since his last time in the cage, I think the story of the fight unfurls similarly. I think Quintana gets it done at Combate Americas 42.

Pick: Quintana (-600)