Showdown Between Two Reigning Champions Tops Stacked Card For Karate Combat’s Return To Universal Studios Florida In Orlando

Three Additional Bouts Announced As Tickets Go On Sale Today For Karate Combat 35 (#KC35)

Karate Combat today announced their first-ever champion vs. champion super fight as the headline bout in Karate Combat 35 (#KC35) on Saturday, August 27, 7PM ET/4PM PT at The Backlot @ Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida.

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Champion vs Champion: Welterweight champion Josh Quayhagen and lightweight champion Luiz 'Pitbull' Rocha clash in the KC35 headliner on 8/27. (Photo: Business Wire)

Welterweight champion Josh ‘The Preacher’ Quayhagen (6-1 KC) will head from his home state of Louisiana to face Brazilian lightweight champion Luiz ‘The Pitbull’ Rocha (7-2 KC), a protege of ‘The Pitbull Brothers’ MMA team in Natal, Brazil, in a five-round catchweight fight.

This highly anticipated fight stems from a call-out made by Rocha earlier this year after he took the Karate Combat World Lightweight Championship from former champion Edgars ‘The Bearslayer’ Skrivers. Calling Quayhagen out by name, Rocha challenged the welterweight champion to a duel in The Pit. ‘The Preacher’ accepted the challenge and this historic matchup was subsequently signed.

Several other bouts for the August 27 card were also confirmed today.

Teeik Silva, a training partner of UFC contenders Alex ‘Po Atan’ Pereira and Glover Texeira, returns to The Pit in search of a win to get him back on the bantamweight title contention trail. He faces Japanese newcomer Miyajima Matsuki, who will be looking to mark his Karate Combat debut by taking out an established name.

Heavy firepower will be traded when light-heavyweight contenders Elhadji ‘Black Magic’ Ndour and the still-undefeated Achraf Ouchen face off for a second time, with NYC’s Ndour looking to avenge a close decision loss to the towering Moroccan when they fought in 2018. The winner will emerge with a shot at the Karate Combat World Light-Heavyweight Championship.

Two top female prospects collide with a view to entering the Strawweight (115lbs / 52kg) title picture when former ballet dancer turned fighter Christina Kavakopoulou travels from Greece to face Brazil’s Sthefanie ‘The Shamaness’ Oliveira, who made an impressive Karate Combat debut earlier this year.

“Luiz Rocha called Josh Quayhagen out and then both of them were messaging me about this fight. Fans were also excited by the prospect of this fight so we made it happen. These two have the most fights and wins in Karate Combat history,” said Adam Kovacs, Karate Combat President.

“Whoever wins this fight will become the P4P Champion in Karate Combat. We have our committee of superfans that created the unofficial rankings where these guys are the top P4Ps. This is going to be a great fight and we’re very excited to return to The Backlot at Universal Studios Florida following last month’s sold out event.”

#KC35 marks Karate Combat’s second visit to The Backlot @ Universal Studios Florida following the June 25 Karate Combat: Season Four Finale event, where a capacity crowd watched ‘Turbo’ Ross Levine take the middleweight championship from Shahin ‘The Lion’ Atamov.

Tickets for both VIP and General admission are on sale now at Karate.com/tickets and are expected to sell out quickly.

Karate Combat’s trademark competition setting is powered by the industry-leading Unreal Engine in concert with award-winning virtual production specialists Lux Machina and has created an instantly recognizable CGI-based look, borrowing from the best of video games, blockbuster moviemaking and traditional sports combined.

About Karate Combat

Karate Combat is the only combat sports league to blend the excitement of live-action, full-contact Karate with immersive CGI environments powered by the Epic Games Unreal gaming engine and industry-leading virtual production specialists Lux Machina. Olympic medalists and national champions from around the world are just some of the elite black belts invited to compete in eight different weight divisions in pursuit of a Karate Combat World Championship. Karate Combat maintains offices in the USA and EU. For more information, please visit www.karate.com

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