Photo Credit: Natalia Belmar

Jennifer Gonzalez (11-5) is one of the best mixed martial arts (MMA) practitioners in all of South America today, and easily the best MMA fighter in her native country, Chile. With the highly anticipated arrival of Combate Americas in South America with the Combate Peru event, González will have the opportunity to make her debut inside “La Jaula” and perhaps even make history.

Combate Peru will take place at Coliseo Manuel Bonilla in Lima, Peru, and will be broadcast exclusively in English in the United States and Canada by DAZN (12am E, 11pm C, 9pm PAC), as well as Univision (12am E, 11pm C) and Univisión Deportes (12am E, 11pm C, 9pm PAC). The card will be headlined by Daniel Zellhuber (7-0) and the Peruvian Gian Franco Cortez (4-0) in a 155 bout.

González started training in the martial arts when she  was 13 years old, practicing several disciplines, particularly Taekwondo (she holds a black belt in the sport). As time went by, González saw MMA as the natural evolution of the different martial arts that she was practicing and decided to give it a try.

She began to train in MMA full time in 2011, and two years later, she made her professional debut in Chile’s regional scene. With a 6-4 record in her first ten bouts, Gonzalez started to make noise in her country and also overseas, managing to compete in France and Brazil. As her passion for MMA grew, so did her feelings for a young Chilean man, Pablo Villaseca, Chile’s MMA pioneer.

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González and Villaseca, both are under Combate Americas’ contract, and they’ll both be fighting in Combate Peru. Long before the creation of Villaseca’s gym “Equipo Weichafe,” the couple trained Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Lucha and MMA together, supporting each other in each of their sports. It is the first time that both fighters will be competing on the same card.

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Martial artists relationship often seem unusual, with couples seen sharing moments on the ring, tatami or cage, rather than the usual dinner and a movie date.  However, the strength of their relationship allows this couple to continue to grow as fighters and to represent their country at the highest level.

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Villaseca will be in Gonzalez‘s corner as part of her team and as her head coach, for her upcoming bout against Dana Zighelboim (2-0), a young Peruvian who comes in undefeated and like Jennifer, will make her Combate Americas’ debut. Gonzalez comes off of completing an extensive 2018 calendar, including four wins in a row as part of a tournament held in India, where she defeated all her opponents by submission.

Together, Jennifer Gonzalez and Pablo Villaseca represent the greatest MMA talent in Chile. For more information about how to see them and the rest of the the card, visit: Combate Peru.