Gustavo López and His First Defense as Champion
August 9, 2019
“La Jaula,” Combate Americas’ circular cage, will host a historic dispute in Lake Tahoe, the first defense for the bantamweight champion Gustavo Lopez (10-4). He will have to defend his belt against a well known fighter, the American of Puerto Rican origin, Joey “The Hunter” Ruquet (7-2).
Gustavo Lopez is one of the best-known faces of Combate Americas. The 30-year-old fighter made his debut in “La Jaula” four years ago, when he defeated Mauricio Diaz by Unanimous Decision.
Lopez’s second challenge in the promotion was his first fight against Joey Ruquet on December 16, 2015. Lopez won that match via Submission (Arm Triangle) at 4:06 of the second round.
Later, Lopez would fall twice in title fights, first against John Castañeda by TKO (Ground and Pound) at 2:24 in the fourth round and then against Jose Alday via Split Decision.
But the third time was the charm for Gustavo Lopez.
On March 29 of this year, Lopez had a rematch with Jose Alday, in what would be his third dispute for the bantamweight belt. Gustavo won the fight by TKO (Ground and Pound) at 2:19 in the first round to be crowned as the new 135 pound champion.
On August 23, Gustavo Lopez will face off for a second time against Joey Ruquet, a rival who he has already defeated, but remains a serious threat. Ruquet is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the entire Combate Americas’ roster.
The battle for the World Bantamweight Championship will take place on August 23, with live U.S. television broadcasts in Spanish on Univision (12 a.m. ET/PT) and UDN (12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT), and in English for Canada and the United States on DAZN (9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT).