Combate Global
COMBATE GLOBAL announced today that it has signed undefeated welterweight (170 pounds) phenom Jaden Ortega (5-0) and unbeaten women’s atomweight (105 pounds) star Janet Garcia (4-0) to multi-fight, multi-year promotional agreements.
The 23-year-old Ortega, who hails from Spokane, Wash. and is a native of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Garcia of San Jose, Calif. will both return to La Jaula, the COMBATE GLOBAL competition cage, at COMBATE GLOBAL’s first event of the year on Thursday, Feb. 26 in Burbank, Calif.
The February 26 event airs live in the U.S. in Spanish on EstrellaTV and live in English on the YouTube channel of MMA content creator, Shane Fazen, at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT. In Mexico, the event airs live on Samsung TV Plus.
In the previously announced main event, Mexican television star and new MMA fighter Jawy “The Mexican Jake Paul” Mendez (1-1) of Mexico City will square off with Underground Combat League (UCL) veteran, John “The Hitman” Padron (2-1), at a catchweight of 175 pounds.
Ortega will face Ricardo “Woody” Chavez (28-24), a veteran of 52 professional fights – more than 10 times the number of professional bouts under Ortega’s belt. Garcia, meanwhile, will take on fellow COMBATE GLOBAL veteran Flor “Compean” Hernandez (4-5).
“I have not seen a prospect as exciting as Jaden Ortega since I signed 19-year-old Vitor Belfort and do not know of any atomweight fighter who is as dangerous as Janet Garcia,” said COMBATE GLOBAL CEO Campbell McLaren.
The difference in experience between Ortega and his opponent is nothing the American fighter isn’t accustomed to.
Ortega’s last two opponents – Marcos Lloreda and Ivan “Choko” Castillo – walked into their respective fights with a combined 65 bouts of professional MMA experience.
In 2025, Ortega cemented his spot as one of the top pound-for-pound emerging stars of the sport, conquering three opponents, all in the first round with strikes standing up, over the course of the year.
Last July 17, the American phenom finished Castillo in just 44 seconds with a body kick-punches combination and, last April 10, Ortega stopped Lloreda with a high kick followed by an onslaught of punches to the grounded Lloreda.
Ortega’s upcoming opponent, Chavez, is a 32-year-old Mexico City native resident, who has earned a staggering 20 of 24 professional wins by way of (T)KO.
In 2025, Chavez competed a record 8 times over the course of the year. He will enter La Jaula for the first time in his career, essentially looking to avenge the defeat of his fellow Mexican fighter, Castillo.
Garcia, 34, is a member of Team AKA, the iconic, San Jose-based MMA training center that has spawned and elevated the careers of dozens of world-class fighters. She is also an established Muay Thai fighter.
All of Garcia’s professional MMA fights, to date, have taken place in La Jaula, while she was competing under her original COMBATE GLOBAL promotional contract.
Hernandez is a 35-year-old resident of Monterrey, N.L., Mexico. She is looking to rebound from a losing streak after getting off to an impressive, 4-0 start as a professional MMA fighter.
Also announced today were two additional February 26 matchups – a lightweight (155 pounds) contest between a pair of undefeated fighters in Cruz “El Destructor” Garcia (5-0) of Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico and Tony “The Conqueror” Cortez (5-0) of Corona, Calif.; and a featherweight (145 pounds) affair between Jose “Ochito” Ochoa (2-1) of Mexicali, B.C., Mexico and Marcelo Reyes (3-2) of Weslaco, Texas.
COMBATE GLOBAL is setting up for its biggest 12 month run in the world’s premier Hispanic focused Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise’s history.
In partnership with EstrellaTV, the multiplatform Spanish-language network owned by MediaCo Holding Inc. (Nasdaq: MDIA), the Hispanic focused MMA franchise is slated to produce 20 live television events this year.
Additional information about COMBATE GLOBAL and its athletes can be found on www.CombateGlobal.com as well as on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
COMPLETE COMBATE GLOBAL FIGHT CARD – FEBRUARY 26, 2026
Catchweight (175 lbs.) Main Event:
Jawy Mendez (1-1) vs. John Padron (2-1)
Featured Welterweight Bout:
Jaden Ortega (5-0) vs. Ricardo Chavez (28-24)
Featured Women’s Atomweight Bout:
Janet Garcia (4-0) vs. Flor Hernandez (4-5)
Lightweight Bout:
Cruz Garcia (5-0) vs. Tony Cortez (5-0)
Featherweight Bout:
Marcelo Reyes (3-2) vs. Jose Ochoa (2-2)
