Combate Americas
Combate Americas, the world’s preeminent Hispanic mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, was founded by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) co-creator, Campbell McLaren. So it was probably just a matter of time before one of the biggest names in the history of the Octagon, Tito Ortiz, found his way to “La Jaula.”
But “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” will draw an unusual first assignment for McLaren and Co., as the “Pride of Mexico,” Alberto Del Rio, returns to combat sports following a nine-year absence — and a successful run for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) — for the toughest test of his cage fighting life.
One that may cost him the WWE belt, a symbol of his pro-wrestling legacy.
“This is my idea, I wanted it, I want that belt, it gives me a motivation I haven’t had in a long, long time,” Ortiz told MMAmania.com. “Because now I see an opportunity to get something I’ve always wanted as a kid. I still have that kid inside of me. I bust my ass for 22 years to have something, and now I have a chance to have something, and it’s going to be that [WWE] belt.”
Their 210-pound catchweight fight headlines Combate Americas first-ever pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sat., Dec. 7, 2019, scheduled for Payne Arena in Hidalgo, Texas. The winner gets to take home the loser’s championship strap.
“We’re putting our legacies, something we worked so freaking hard to get wrapped around our waists, regardless if it’s pro wrestling or MMA, we both worked hard,” Del Rio said. “It wasn’t easy. Even though they’re not sanctioned by anyone, it’s sanctioned by us, it’s in our trophy room, it tells you everything about us, our personas, as athletes. It’s blood, sweat, and tears and we’re putting it on the line.”
Ortiz (20-12-1) is coming off a first-round shellacking of longtime rival, Chuck Liddell, under the now-defunct Golden Boy MMA banner last November. Prior to that, the UFC hall-of-famer shut down Chael Sonnen by way of submission in the Bellator 170 main event.
As for Del Rio (9-5), he’s been out of the mixed martial arts (MMA) game for nearly a decade, having not seen action since his technical knockout loss to Mamoru Yamamoto at Cage of Combat 4 in early 2010, which snapped a six-fight win streak.
Priced from $30, tickets for the Dec. 7 event go on sale this Friday (Oct. 11) at 10 a.m. CT at Ticketmaster.com.