She’s a talented pro wrestler. Now Thunder Rosa is crossing over to MMA
Thunder Rosa is one of the top talents on the pro wrestling scene today, and through her success in the squared circle for several high-profile companies, she now turns her attention to MMA.
New to her in competition, it’s a welcome and trending challenge, and her goal is to do both successfully.
She can.
Crossover between pro wrestling and MMA is quite the norm these days. Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Bobby Lashley, Kazushi Sakuraba, Ken Shamrock, and Dan The Beast Severn have done both very well. Cain Velasquez, Alberto Del Rio, Masakatsu Funaki, Sexy Star, Matt Riddle, Shayna Baszler, CM Punk, Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir, Josh Barnett, and Sonya Deville are more noted names listed in that crossover sect.
Now it’s Rosa’s turn, and the big day is almost here.
Born in Tijuana, B.C., Mexico, Rosa signed a multi-fight MMA deal with Combate Americas, and she is preparing for her MMA debut on Friday, Nov. 8 in her hometown San Antonio, Texas. The fight will be broadcast live on Univision and TUDN.
Combate Americas is the premier Hispanic MMA sports franchise, rapidly becoming the number two sport after soccer, for Spanish speaking fans worldwide. The Combate Americas franchise includes live event and original shoulder programming on some of the biggest television, OTT and digital platforms in Spanish and English, including Univision and Univision Deportes Network (UDN), DAZN, ESPN, GOL and Facebook Watch worldwide.
Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren is also the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Pro wrestling stars Sexy Star Dulce Garcia and Alberto Del Rio (aka Alberto el Patron) are also part of McLaren’s roster.
In February, Combate Americas inked the former Lucha Underground champion and AAA star Sexy Star to an exclusive, multi-fight agreement. She made her MMA debut for Combate Americas in her hometown of Monterrey, N.L., Mexico, on April 12, earning a unanimous decision over Mariana Ruiz Avila.
Alberto Del Rio, a former WWE champion, is training to fight MMA legend Tito Ortiz on Dec. 7 for Combate Americas. Del Rio, who last fought MMA in 2010, is 9-5. He is also a broadcaster and brand ambassador for Combate Americas.
Rosa will continue to compete in pro wrestling. As Serpentine, she is one of the superheroes on WOW-Women of Wrestling on AXS TV. WOW is owned by Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and run by GLOW founder David McLane.
As Thunder Rose, she wrestles on YouTube for NWA Powerrr, under the direction of Smashing Pumpkins front-man Billy Corgan. She has wrestled abroad in the United States and for Stardom in Japan.
Rosa received national and international exposure by wrestling in seasons two and three of Lucha Underground on El Rey Network. There she was Kobra Moon, a name she took to WOW, before becoming Serpentine.
She enjoyed a stint with Ring of Honor before joining the ranks of WOW. In September, as Serpentine (with Sophia Lopez), she battled WOW Women’s Champ Tessa Blanchard in an outstanding match.
She is a former Lucha Underground Trios Champ with Daga and Jeremiah Snake (aka Sami Calllhan) and a former Shine Tag Team Champion with Holidead.
Rosa was ranked No.43 in the 2016 PWI Top 50 Females. In January 2019, she became a U.S. citizen.
In an audio interview I conducted with Thunder Rosa, she discusses Combate Americas, MMA training, Sexy Star, Alberto Del Rio, San Antonio, NWA Power, WOW, Lucha Underground, Make-up, Masks, Tessa Blanchard, Japan and more.
Rosa has been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Brazilian Top Team in San Antonio, since 2016.
Thunder Rosa MMA Fight
Professional wrestling star Melissa “Thunder Rosa” Cervantes will make her MMA debut against Nadine “Too Much” Mandiau (0-1) in a strawweight (115 pounds) contest for Combate Americas on Friday, Nov. 8 at Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio.
Mandiau of San Diego, California compiled a solid 4-1 record as an amateur, with three of her four wins by (T)KO or submission. She is looking to rebound from a first round (2:37) defeat via submission (armbar) at the hands of Vanessa Demopoulos on June 7.
Priced from $20, tickets for the TS-1 Promotions-hosted Combate Americas live television event are on sale at CombateAmericas.com/SanAntonio.
The event will broadcast live on television in the United States on Univision (12 a.m. ET/11 p.m. CT) and TUDN (12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT), and in Mexico on Televisa Canal 5 (11 p.m. CDT) and TUDN Mexico (11 p.m. CDT).
Where to see her in pro wrestling
Thunder Rosa can be seen on Tuesdays at 6:05 p.m. ET on YouTube for NWA Powerrr.
As Serpentine, she can been seen on Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET on AXS TV for WOW-Women of Wrestling.
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This story was originally published November 5, 2019 at 11:56 PM.
