Watch: Alberto Del Rio vs. Tito Ortiz MMA Fight Announced

Campbell McLaren, the CEO of the Hispanic mixed martial arts promotion Combate Americas, announced on Tuesday in an interview with Generacion MMA that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz will step back into the octagon for an upcoming fight against former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio.

“I would like to say here’s the date, here’s the venue, here’s the city, but we’re close,” McLaren said. “I’m here in Madrid looking for media partners and we’re getting [a] great response. I will say that the Tito Ortiz – Alberto Del Rio fight will be on TV and mobile in Spain. You will be able to see that, I know that is true.

No word yet on when or where exactly the fight will take place. Del Rio’s last MMA fight came in February 2010 when he lost to Yamamoto Hanshi via TKO.

After Del Rio’s second run in WWE ended in September 2016, he turned his attention back to MMA and was named the president of Combate Americas and was put in charge of promoting the promotion in Mexico. He left his position in July 2017, several months after debuting with Impact Wrestling as Alberto El Patron.

Back in December Del Rio gave an interview with BJPenn.com Radio where he teased returning to MMA as an active fighter.

“I’m a big fan of the Rocky movies and I remember that scene when Rocky is telling Paulie, ‘Hey, I need to get the beast out of the basement.’ That’s how I feel,” Del Rio said on December episode of BJPenn.com Radio, long before this fight with Tito Ortiz was announced. “I feel like I have to get something out of me, get that beast out of the basement. I went back to the gym and I started just kicking ass and working hard everyday and I said to myself, ‘Hey, you know, I think I can do this again.’

“I’m being smart, I retired for pretty much 12-13 years, I retired 12-13 years ago. I don’t want to rush into anything so I’m doing it the right way,” he added. “I started getting my stamina back, my cardio back ,and now, just two weeks ago, we started doing the sparring a little bit.

Ortiz’s last MMA fight came in November 2018, when he beat his long-time rival Chuck Liddell.