fisticuffs vs combat

fisticuffs and combat both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
fisticuffs	Yes	No	No	No
combat	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, combat is a hypernym of fisticuffs; that is, combat is a word with a broader meaning than fisticuffs:

Other hypernyms of fisticuffs include fight, fighting, scrap.

fisticuffs (noun)	combat (noun)
fighting with the fists	an engagement fought between two military forces
a fight with bare fists	the act of fighting; any contest or struggle

fisticuffs (verb)	combat (verb)
	battle or contend against in or as if in a battle