Former WWE superstar Alberto Del Rio is reportedly set to take on UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz in a 210-pound catchweight for Combate Americas. The bout will mark Tito's Combate Americas debut, and Del Rio's first MMA fight since February 2010.
Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren announced the fight during an interview with Generation MMA on Tuesday afternoon, although a date and location has not been revealed.
According to MMA Junkie, Combate Americas Vice President of Operations and Communications, Mike Afromowitz, says:
“The fight is going to happen. I came up with the idea a few months ago, after Alberto had expressed his intention of wanting to fight for Combate Americas, and brought the idea to my boss Campbell McLaren. We went out to both camps and have put this fight together. It’s on.”
Ortiz signed with Combate Americas in April, following his first-round knockout victory against longtime rival Chuck Lidell in a highly criticized fight at Golden Boy MMA. The Hall of Famer boasts an overall record of 20-12-1 in his MMA career, which began way back in 1997.
Del Rio (9-5) last fought at Cage of Combat 4 in 2010, where he suffered a second-round TKO loss to Yamamoto Hanshi. Prior to that, El Patron had won six straight contests.