Tito Ortiz Talks MMA Fight With Alberto El Patron, Representing Supporters Of Trump's Wall
As noted, the Combate Americas MMA promotion recently announced a fight between former WWE Champion Alberto El Patron (Alberto Del Rio) and UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz. No date or location was announced, but it's believed the fight will take place later this fall, perhaps in October. Alberto signed with Combate Americas in 2018 and has done commentary for their Spanish-language broadcasts on Univision. Ortiz signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion back in April, and this will be his first fight for them. Alberto was present at Ortiz's signing press conference back in April and it seemed that Ortiz called him out then. Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren then confirmed the fight will take place earlier this month during an interview.
Ortiz last fought on November 28, 2018 – a KO win over Chuck Liddell for Golden Boy Promotions in Los Angeles. He has a pro MMA record of 20-12-1. Alberto hasn't fought since February 27, 2010 – a TKO loss to Yamamoto Hanshi at the Cage of Combat 4 event in Madrid, Spain. Patron has a pro MMA record of 9-5.
Ortiz recently appeared on iHeartRadio's Domenick Nati Show and was asked about the fight with Alberto. You can hear the interview in the YouTube video below. Ortiz was asked if he thinks he will defeat Alberto in the first round.
"Well you know, it will be a three round fight," Ortiz said. "Three, five-minute rounds. And I will train for three, five-minute rounds. And coming from the WWE, those guys can take a beating. So let's see if Alberto can take a beating for a round. I guarantee it will be just like the last one, nice and short."
Ortiz, a proud supporter of President Donald Trump, was asked if there's really no bad blood between he and Ortiz, and asked about building to the fight with no trash talking. Ortiz pointed to their recent interaction on how Alberto supports open borders while he believes in closed borders, and said they are fighting for Trump's wall.
"Well you know, I'm Mexican-American myself. Excuse me, I'm American-Mexican because I'm born here in the States and he's Mexican-American. He was born in Mexico and he believes in having open borders," Ortiz said. "Well, I believe in having closed borders. Every person that walks across this border should have a passport or should be documented to see who's coming in and out of our country. I'm an American and I believe in that 100%. I'm not a political person, I'm not a Republican, I'm not a Democrat. I'm an American and that's what I believe. I want safety for my children. I have three boys. I want to make sure that the future for my children is safe. Alberto Del Rio don't believe that a wall should be up, but he believes that anybody should be able to come in and out of this country. And my question to him is, why do you live in San Antonio now? How come you don't live in Mexico, where you used to live? And his answer was, 'Because, the safety of my children.' I go, 'Boom.' So, you're okay with not having a wall? He says, 'We can agree to disagree.'
"And I think this is where the stuff starts getting a little slippery where we have our disagreements, and he said he wants to fight me. And I was like, 'I think you're biting off a little more than he could chew.' I'm here to battle. I'm here to battle for for my country, and for all the lucky ones that do want to come to this country, or if it's just immigrants in general, who want to do it the right way."
Ortiz was also asked if he thinks the fans supporting the fight may be divided by two sides – one who represents "Latinos that are in America that believe the wall should be there" and then the other, who Alberto is representing, who would be "Mexicans that are against it." Ortiz thinks that's where things are for the fight, and talked more about border security.
"I think that's where it stands," he admitted. "It's just kind of crazy. Why would you want to have a safe country? I've been to some of the craziest places in Mexico and in Mexico City, and I wouldn't want our country like that. It's scary and it's just... government-wise, it's scary. And I don't want our country to turn into that. So I think people should be documented. People should be background checked before they step into our country. I mean, I have never traveled to a different country without a passport. I've always had to have a passport. They always had to do a background check on me to make sure who I was coming into their country. Yes, I am Tito Ortiz. Still, they have to do a background check. It's protocol and that's the way it should be. And that's the way this country should be should be ran."