Jawy Mendez Signs MMA Contract with Combate Global

Jawy Mendez is ready for combat(e)…

The 33-year-old Mexican reality show star and recording artist has signed with Combate Global to compete as a pro mixed martial arts fighter, the promotion has announced.

Jawy MendezHis debut will be on August 5 against Johan Rodriguez.

Mendez, was a member of the cast of Mexico’s Acapulco Shore reality show — a takeoff on Jersey Shore — for nine seasons. He’ll be on another reality series, Hotel de Los Famosos, which airs on one of Mexico’s biggest networks, Televisa Canal 5, for its next season.

Mendez, who has more than 3 million followers on Instagram, has been training in MMA for two years, since opening up his Crew Wellness Club Mexico in Mexico City. He trains with MMA veterans Alfredo Morales and Carlos Enrique Cañada.

His bout against Rodriguez, a Colombian fighter also making his pro debut, is contracted for a 176-pound catchweight.

MMA has been red-hot in Mexico with three Mexican-born fighters winning UFC titles in 2023. Combate Global, which draws strong television ratings in the U.S. on Univision, has been focused on Latin American talent, specifically fighters from Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking audience since 2011 under UFC co-creator Campbell McLaren.

Christina Aguilera Takes to TikTok to Recreate Iconic “Stripped” Look

It’s a special Throwback Thursday for Christina Aguilera.

In a throwback to her Stripped days, the 41-year-old half-Ecuadorian American Grammy-winning singer, actress, and television personality took to TikTok this week to recreate a scene from her tour in support of her 2002 album.

Christina AguileraIn the clip she tells a dancer onstage, “Just because my album’s name is Stripped, doesn’t mean that you can take my clothes off.”

2022 Xtina then shows off a Stripped-inspired look, complete with thick lashes and black and blonde streaked hair, as she struts around her house to a remix of her single, “Dirrty.”

Last week, Aguilera took to social media to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her sophomore album.

“My favorite memory was just, I mean, the freedom to finally do what I wanted to do,” the pop star reminisced over a montage of moments from the Stripped era on Twitter. “As an artist, telling my stories, my personal messages for the first time. It was so important to me on my sophomore album that I truly made music that represented who I was.”

She added, “Stripped gave me the strength and freedom as an artist to tell my story the way I wanted. Thank you to all of my fighters around the world for amplifying that strength and giving me the space to continue to share myself in my truest forms, #20YearsOfStripped more to come.”

Stripped — which included songs like “Beautiful,” “Fighter,” “Dirrty” and “Can’t Hold Us Down” — peaked at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, and it spent an impressive 79 total weeks on the chart.

https://www.tiktok.com/@xtina/video/7158583587183365419?embed_source=70772374%2C70772379%2C120009725%2C120008483%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7158583587183365419&refer=embed&referer_url=www.billboard.com%2Fmusic%2Fpop%2Fchristina-aguilera-stripped-outfit-recreation-1235161623%2F&referer_video_id=7158583587183365419

Christina Aguilera Releasing New “Beautiful” Music Video For World Mental Health Day

Christina Aguilera is stripping down one of her biggest hits…

The 41-year-old singer, songwriter, actress and television personality is celebrating 20 years of her studio album Stripped by unveiling a new music video for “Beautiful.”

Christina AguileraXtina announced that she’s honor one of her career’s biggest singles with the new clip to be released later this month.

“In celebration of the 20 year anniversary of Stripped and World Mental Health Day, I’m honored to share a new music video for ‘Beautiful,’” she wrote on Twitter, noting that the clip will be arriving on October19. “Tune out and turn in. Take your space, log off, put your mind, body, and soul first.”

In the accompanying teaser clip, a group of young girls are seen at desks, applying heavy makeup in front of a phone attached to a ring light.

“Beautiful,” released in 2002, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated February 1, 2003 and spent 27 total weeks on the chart. Stripped — which, in addition to “Beautiful,” includes songs like “Fighter,” “Dirrty” and “Can’t Hold Us Down” — also peaked at No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, and it spent an impressive 79 total weeks on the chart.

https://twitter.com/xtina/status/1579656164002123776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1579656164002123776%7Ctwgr%5E79650b13a2896010319f7902c35f52dcfb4601f3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.billboard.com%2Fmusic%2Fpop%2Fchristina-aguilera-new-beautiful-music-video-1235154527%2F

Aguilera famously received backlash when she introduced fans to “Xtina” for Stripped, dying her hair black, posing nude on magazine covers and overall flaunting a more sexually explicit persona for her 2002 album. “I hope I paved the way and helped set the ground rules that women can be any version of themselves they wanna be…and proud of it,” Aguilera told Cosmopolitan in 2018.

Aguilera Releases Risqué Artwork for New Album

On her last album Bionic, Christina Aguilera encouraged listeners to “Desnudate”… But on her latest studio effort, she’s the one getting naked.

The 31-year-old half-Ecuadorian songstress has released the oh-so-revealing cover artwork for her forthcoming album Lotus.

Christina Aguilera

Aguilera wears nothing to cover her skin but her long, flowing blond hair to cover her breasts, while a white light effect conceals her lower body part. She stands at the center of a lotus flower as if she’s blossoming from it.

When discussing album, she explained the meaning behind the title, “Album title: Lotus. Representing an unbreakable flower that survives under the hardest conditions and still thrives.”

Christina Aguilera's Lotus Artwork
“If you love ‘Fighter‘, you’re going to love my new album,” she gushed about the new record in an interview with Lucky magazine. “As a 31-year-old woman, I’ve been uncovering my independence, and it’s been really fun to explore in the new songs.”

On another occasion, she told Ryan Seacrest, “This album is about self-expression and freedom. There is a lot I have gone through personally over the past few years, and this record represents a rebirth for me. The record is about freedom and getting back to the root of who I am and what I love to do.”

Aguilera’s seventh studio album will be released on November 13, with “Your Body” as its lead single.

Aguilera Takes the “Voice” Stage for a High-Octane Performance

Proving she’s the ultimate fighter with some serious pipes, Christina Aguilera took to The Voice stage on Monday night’s live episode.

The 31-year-old half-Ecuadorian singer and coach of NBC’s hit singing competition performed her empowerment anthem “Fighter” with her four remaining contestants.

Christina Aguilera

But Aguilera didn’t break into her Top 20 single, right away… First, the Grammy-winning singer teased her fellow Voice coach Blake Shelton.

Wearing a blinged-out leotard, fishnets and a cowboy hat, Aguilera ribbed Shelton with his own song “Hillbilly Bone” and later tossed a wad of cash at the country star as bare-chested cowboys danced next to his chair.

Then Aguilera’s team members Chris Mann, Ashley De La Rosa, Jesse Campbell and Lindsey Pavao joined their coach and the Crenshaw High School choir on stage to perform a rousing rendition of “Fighter.”

The performance brought a little levity to the night as Aguilera and Shelton would each be forced to send one of their singers home at the end of the quarterfinals performance episode.

In the end, Aguilera elected to send Jesse Campbell packing, but not before reassuring her team members that no matter the results this would be just the beginning of bigger and better things for each of them.