Preview CG2022 August 19: Tena vs Romero
August 17, 2022
Miami, FL– Two men, who are undefeated in la jaula will meet in this week’s main event for CG 2022 August 19: Tena vs Romero.
Arizona’s Ivan Tena (4-0) will meet last year’s fight of the year winner Mexico’s Roberto Romero (4-2-1) in the main fight of the evening in a 145 pound fight. It is a classic fight between USA vs Mexico.
In the co-main event, after a successful professional debut Chile’s Valentina (1-0) meets Mexico’s Yazmin Najera in a fight at 120 pounds.
Tena vs Romero
Romero is the 2021 “Fight of the Night” award winner for his fight against Zed Montanez. This performance came after two consecutive first-round knockout victories. He was undefeated in 2021 and produced some of the greatest highlights from last year. He has a background in Limalama, a Polynesian art of self-defense. In fact, he won the 2018 Limalama championship in Spain. He trains with the reputable fight camp at Team Oyama, home to world champion Carla Esparza, and Raw Talent Boxing.
Tena defeated Geraldo Almonte by way of knockout in April. He has yet to make an appearance in the third round of any of his professional fights. He made his professional debut with Combate Global back in 2019. He is currently enjoying his winning streak and just graduated as a mechanical engineer from Arizona State University. He trains out of the MMA Lab, home to former champion Benson Henderson and many others.
Count on this fight to be fast paced but much respect will be show in the first round as both will feel out each other’s fight game with the bout slowly picking up the speed. Romero is fast with his hands and kicks, but Tena is the better counter attacker and is patient with his striking waiting for the right moment to finish the fight. If the fight goes to the ground, it will be Tena to make the first move. However, Romero said he has been working on his defense.
Moriel vs Najera
The time finally arrived for Najera to make her Combate Global debut. Her lone professional fight, which was a victory, was back in May 2021. She won by majority decision. She trains with the Renzo Gracie, Mario Delgado and Yod Nak Muah in Mexico. She was set to debut inside la jaula earlier this year, but setbacks postponed her first appearance.
On the other hand, Moriel is fresh off her first professional victory when she defeated Maria Fernanda by unanimous decision in April. She trains with Chile’s Barrio Franklin, but for this fight she traveled to Brazil to train with Renovacao Fight Team and Mulheres Super Poderosas to up her ground game.
Right from the start, expect Moriel to throw hands. In her last fight she started a bit slowly and quickly increased her speed as the fight went on, but now that she has experienced her first professional fight, she will go in la jaula a lot more confident.
Najera can’t allow any of the nerves to get the best of her, so footwork will be very important for her. Don’t be surprised if Moriel displays what she has been working on in Brazil as she may take this fight to the ground.