Ortiz already appears pumped for the bout, which will be his first in the Combate Americas, a Hispanic mixed martial arts company. “When you do it for the love of the sport. I will break him!” he wrote on Instagram.
Del Rio, whose real name is José Alberto Rodríguez, is known for his time in the WWE but also has an MMA background, earning a 9-5 record throughout several promotions. He doesn’t seem phased by “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.”
“#America wasn’t created for you, America was created for me…AMERICA WAS CREATED FOR EVERYBODY,” he wrote in an Instagram post that shows him staring down Ortiz.
Of course, Ortiz requires little to no introduction. He had a 20-12-1 record in UFC and Bellator. He retired in 2012 for just one year, and retired again in 2017 before returning to the Octagon last November to take on longtime foe, Chuck Liddell. It appears the return was worth it, because Ortiz defeated “The Iceman” for the first time. He signed with Combate in April.
The 44-year-old Ortiz will take on Del Rio, 42, at a 210-pound catchweight.
