Oh Dear: Alberto Del Rio Got Back Into Mixed Martial Arts On Saturday And Had A Quick Night

Well that didn’t work for Del Rio. Wrestling and mixed martial arts seem to be rather relatable in a way. Most mixed martial artists have a strong wrestling background and it is a staple of the sport. At the same time, a lot of mixed martial artists have made the jump to professional wrestling, including Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, King Mo and more. It makes a lot of sense to see their paths cross, but what about when they collide?

Alberto Del Rio (now known as Alberto El Patron) is one of the many wrestlers who spent time as a mixed martial artist. Del Rio had a 9-5 career record as a mixed martial artist, but he had not fought in nearly ten years. That was scheduled to change on Saturday, as Del Rio would be coming out of retirement to face UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz. So how did it go?

On Saturday night at Combate Americas 51, Ortiz defeated Del Rio in three minutes and ten seconds via submission by way of a rear naked choke. As a result, Del Rio was forced to give Ortiz his WWE Championship, which Ortiz presented to his children. At the moment, there is no word on Del Rio fighting again. Del Rio is still an active wrestler, having most recently wrestled on November 16.

You might not remember how Del Rio looked in the ring. Check out some of his moments:

Opinion: Honestly, this is far from the most surprising result in the world. While Del Rio may have been a somewhat successful fighter before, he had not fought in nearly ten years and Ortiz was a much more talented fighter than Del Rio was on his best day. The fight was completely one sided and I can’t say I would have expected it to have gone any other way. Del Rio would probably be better suited to stick to a four sided ring and that is fine.

What did you think of Del Rio in the ring? Will he ever return to a major promotion? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews.

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