'They didn't allow us to fight': Lucero Acosta opens up on messy Combate Global split ahead of PFL debut

· Yahoo Sports

Not long ago, Latin American MMA promotion Combate Global appeared to be disappearing from the sport. Events ceased, and fighters were stuck in limbo. Then Combate returned in early 2026 — only to fade away again.

Now the cycle is continuing anew, and its latest casualty to speak out was arguably the promotion's biggest star. At the very least, Combate invested heavily in Mexican flyweight prospect Lucero Acosta and made no secret of it.

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Often referred to by her "La Loba" nickname, the 32-year-old Acosta is set to make her PFL debut this Friday against Shannon Clark in Chicago. The fight will be her first outside Combate, where she began her MMA career in 2019.

In May, Acosta (8-2) shocked many by revealing she was no longer part of Combate. Her announcement post oozed relief, with an undertone of past frustration:

"Finally, my contract has ended with a company that didn't give me a chance to fight and also wouldn't let me compete in any sport due to exclusivity issues. I lost so many opportunities for being under contract, and because of one human being's selfishness."

It wasn't the first time a Combate fighter had faced inactivity and an alleged inability to fight. Acosta's past opponent, Maritza Sanchez, coincidentally found herself stuck in the same boat throughout 2024. Sanchez ultimately spent 15 months sidelined before she finished the final fight of her Combate contract in March 2025. But Sanchez wasn't the company's face, like Acosta.

"La Loba" only fought once in two and a half years before she finally spoke out in May.

"They left us inactive for a minute," Acosta told Uncrowned through an interpreter. " So, at the end of the day, when we wanted to try and generate other types of opportunities for me, they weren't allowing me to fight. That's why the problems and the issues came up, because, at the end of the day, I couldn't do jiu-jitsu, I couldn't do any other type of fighting. I didn't generate money. That's what got us to this point.

"Finally, when the contract was over, this opportunity [with PFL] arose, and that's why we're here now."

Lucero Acosta makes her PFL debut this Friday in Chicago. (Photo credit: PFL)

Looking back, Combate underwent an eventless stretch from July 2024 to March 2025. The promotion then hosted six shows in six months, with its final coming in August 2025, before taking another extended break. Business picked back up this past February — after the year's first two events, a March 26 show in Burbank was canceled. Two more Burbank events successfully took place in May and April — then Combate canceled nine events in the months since.

Combate is currently planning to return Oct. 22 and has three shows scheduled for November. All are planned for Burbank.

The inactivity was an even bigger dealbreaker for Acosta, she said, because of the false starts she alleged were put in front of her. Despite attempts to stay busy, Acosta said she was blocked from competing elsewhere by Combate, both in boxing and MMA. She simply kept training and managing her bank account to the best of her abilities, she said.

Acosta's contract expiration date saved her, she said. Per Acosta, her Combate contract included a one-year matching clause after its expiration, which is where PFL came in, offering her a six-fight, two-year deal that Combate couldn't match.

"Combate was kind of forced to release me, because they had no way of matching the numbers with PFL, but they kept on prolonging the process,” Acosta said. “They wanted to make me the face of Combate, which I was, but I was active then.

"They didn't pay me to sit down; they paid me to fight. So if I'm not fighting, how am I going to generate any income?"

For years after her arrival to the promotion, Combate CEO Campbell McLaren publicly touted Acosta as MMA's biggest women’s star — among other things.

When asked about her relationship with McLaren, Acosta said the two haven't talked since her Combate contract expired and that she hasn't responded to any messages she's received since. There's "nothing to talk to him about anymore," she added.

McLaren responded to Acosta's claims with the following statement:

"Combate Global honored its contract with Lucero Acosta, and we expected her to do the same. We wish her luck in her post-Combate career."

Acosta now finds herself in uncharted waters amid her promotional transition.

While embracing the differences ahead, she said she’s happy and comfortable. She feels no pressure to set foot in the "big leagues," as she called it.

Acosta said she hopes to maximize her activity by fighting out her first PFL contract over the next two years, with three fights a year. But as exciting as the change is, she’s still shocked by this whole saga.

"They did treat me well," Acosta said. "However, they were not giving me any fights, so it was kind of hard. Then, when we wanted to go fight, that's when I started realizing, 'OK, this is not working out, because I'm not fighting with Combate or anything like that. But yet, they don't let me fight outside of Combate.’

"Then you start realizing that that was the issue. Because we had a bunch of offers for boxing for good, good boxing purses, and they didn't allow us to fight."

Although her momentum has been stalled, Acosta still enters PFL on a four-fight win streak. The Combate chapter in her story may have ended on a less-than-pleasant note, but she isn’t dwelling on any negatives, and instead is embracing the future.

"It was an experience. There's no grudge," Acosta said. "As much as they helped me out with a career start-up, I helped them out too, as a mutual agreement. We helped each other out. It's a learning experience, and I'm moving forward."

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