By Rodolfo Roman
La Jaula will open its doors for the 2025 Combate Global season and it is rolling it out with an all-women’s fight card this Thursday, March 13, streaming live and free on YouTube.
Headlining ‘Combate Female” will be Maritza Sanchez (6-1) taking on England’s Kate “Queen of the South” Bacik (5-2) and three-time boxing champion Kenia “Mexican Queen” Enriquez (0-0 MMA; 28-1, 11 KO’s Boxing) will make her MMA debut against Hayley “The Bloody” Valentine (5-0) also from England.
Poland’s Wiktoria Wojciechowska (3-2) meets Yazmin “La Niña Árbol” Najera (4-1) in the main card.
Sanchez vs Bacik
Sanchez last competed in December 2023 in a decision victory over Elina Kallionidou. Since her lone defeat in 2019, the Californian has been unstoppable going undefeated since February 2020. Her strikes are furious and have the power to take opponents out just like she did against striker Dee Begley in November 2022 with a body shot.
She trains with Uriah Faber and has been putting in the work with UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko.
Bacik will be making her Combate Global debut. She comes with a strong grappling background. She is notorious for starting off strong with her standup game then making her way to take her opponent to the ground. She has had much success where she too defeated Dee Begley by way of submission in December 2023. Bacik is coming out of a defeat so she is looking to bounce back.
Expect Bacik to entertain striking and use her low kicks to entice Sanchez to come in. Bacick will attempt to go for the ground where it could test Sanchez. It is grappler versus striker matchup.
Enriquez vs Valentine
Enriquez will be making her mma debut after taking over the boxing world capturing several titles. But don’t take her lightly since it is her debut. She trains out of Lobo Gym in Mexico home to champions like Alexa Grosso and many more including Alejandra “Azul” Lara, who competed last year in la jaula. Count on her striking to be the difference in her fight.
Valentine trains out of BST Academy home to several top fighters. She counts on her heavy hands for victories and has a strong grappling background as well, which will be the major difference in this fight. Figuring out how to stop Enriquez from striking and taking the fight to the ground will benefit the English fighter.
Were the months in training prepare Enriquez for a full transition into mma? That is the question. If she can stop the take down, Enriquez could take her first mma win home. However, if Valentine takes the fight to ground and could be a submission or ground and pound win for her. Enriquez won’t be the only boxer who turned mma fighter to compete in la jaula as world boxing champion Amanda Serrano also competed in la jaula and remained undefeated in mma.
Garcia vs Geraldo
Garcia, who trains out of AKA in California, will unleash with her powerful muay thai skills. Expect her to bring a full fledge of offensive arsenal. For Geraldo, who returns to la jaula, after having success, brings her pair of heavy hands as well. This could be a strike war, but since Garcia just obtained her brown belt, she may experiment on the ground.
Lastly Yazmin Najera returns to action against Polish Wiktoria Wojciechowska. Expect this fight to be on the feet if dictated by Najera who has crisp boxing.
