Alberto Del Rio Joins Combate Americas: ‘El Patrón’ Becomes President Of Hispanic MMA Franchise

Mexican professional wrestler and MMA artist José Alberto Rodríguez, also known as Alberto del Rio, has joined Combate Americas, the leading Hispanic MMA franchise, as their new president with the name Alberto “El Presidente” Rodríguez. In his new executive role with Combate Americas, “El Presidente” will be involved in all aspects of the relationship and the development of athletes, from recruitment to projects that lead to the improvement of their skills.

“With a great history as a fighter in Mexico and the United States, Alberto brings a great knowledge of what a high-level competition is. This, coupled with his ability to communicate his passion for sport and his new role, make it a great success for the sport,” said Campbell McLaren, founder and CEO of Combate Americas. “We have worked with Alberto in the past, we know each other very well and we are very excited to have him on our team as an executive,” McLaren added.

“I am very excited to enter this new chapter of my career in combat sports and to have the opportunity to lead the mission of Combate Americas to give fans an authentic, upscale product,” Rodriguez said.

“El Presidente” is a seven-time world champion, having held both the WWE Championship and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship twice, as well as the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship, the WWL World Heavyweight Championship and the AAA Mega Championship once each. He also won the 2011 Royal Rumble and the 2011 Money in the Bank ladder match, making him the only wrestler to win both in the same calendar year.

During his time with WWE, Rodriguez faced and defeated a collection of champions and other sports superstars, including fellow Mexican Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler. As a member of the Mexican team of Greco-Roman wrestling in the 90s, Rodriguez won the Central American and Caribbean Games in his division three times.

Rodriguez will make his official debut this week as “El Presidente” during Combate Americas’ first fight live from New York, on Friday, October 14 at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona.

“Combate Americas: Empire Rising” will be headlined by the first championship fight in history, where the rooster belt (135 lbs) will be held between the rising stars John "Sexy Mexy" Castañeda (11-2) from Mankato, Minnesota, and Gustavo Lopez (6-1) from Las Vegas, Nevada via Yakima, Washington.