An MMA fight between UFC legend Tito Ortiz and professional wrestling superstar Alberto del Rio has been in the works since April when Tito Ortiz signed with Combate Americas. They have shared a couple of encounters, including a back and forth promo in the cage. Now, it looks like a date and host city has been set. There may also be very high profile guests in attendance.
To hype up the build for the Tito vs Alberto fight, Ortiz has been releasing weekly episodes of a series on his YouTube channel titled Uncaged to profile his life and training. The beginning of episode 3 revealed important information.
Ortiz name-dropped receiving an instant message from Donald Trump Jr. The camera catches his phone screen to reveal a planned fight date for December 7 in Hidalgo, Texas. Trump Jr. responded, “Cool. Let me see what I can do.” Ortiz reacted with enthusiasm at the prospect of President Donald Trump and/or his son attending.
It is exciting to see Tito vs Alberto has a potential date. It must be noted that Combate Americas has not officially announced the December 7 date publicly, so let’s call this an unofficially official date.
You may be wondering about the connection between Ortiz and the Trump family. Back in 2008, Trump Sr. and sons were in the crowd cheering on Ortiz against Lyoto Machida at UFC 84.
Aside from the MMA connection, Ortiz also supports Donald Trump as US President. One policy in particular is the border wall. Tito and Alberto even turned the border wall into part of their feud. Listen to Ortiz’s thoughts on the subject, if you are curious.
WOW! Listen to this guy.@titoortiz, former UFC champion, and Hall-of-Famer reveals why he loves Trump and the wall.
— LazyMeatball (@LazyMeatball) September 8, 2019
He fights for all LEGAL immigrants! pic.twitter.com/IACtBC9qji
It would be quite the coup for Combate Americas to have members of the Trump family in attendance. Whatever your feelings about the Trump family, the point is that the Trump name would get people talking and aware of the event from an up-and-coming MMA promotion. And as Eric Bischoff is fond of saying, controversy creates cash. Once Combate Americas gets those new eyeballs, it is up to the matchmakers and fighters to put on a fantastic show to keep viewers returning.
If the Trump plans fall through, perhaps Helen Mirren can take in another Combate Americas event.
As for Alberto del Rio, he has been spending time in Arizona training with C.B. Dollaway and Bellator double champ (Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight) Ryan Bader.
I am highly intrigued by the matchup between Tito and Alberto. I don’t believe Alberto has much of a chance to win, but I still want to see it. Si, si, si! Who’s with me? Will you be tuning in to Combate Americas for Tito Ortiz vs Alberto del Rio?