Tito Ortiz coming out of retirement for Combate Americas
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is coming out of retirement…again.
The 44-year-old signed a deal with Combate Americas, the promotion co-founded by UFC co-founder Campbell McLaren, while he was cageside at the company’s Friday night event.
Ortiz was last seen in action for the much-maligned November triology fight against Chuck Liddell for Golden Boy Promotions, a bout he won via first round knockout.
After a long career in the UFC, he came out of retirement after a two-year absence for Bellator and ran up a 3-1 record over three years. He retired again after a first round submission win over Chael Sonnen in January 2017 before returning for the Liddell fight.
McLaren didn’t announce when Ortiz’s debut fight would be or against who. The promotion currently has a deal with DAZN, home of Bellator MMA and many boxing events.
Combate Americas has made some headlines with recent signings that include former WWE star and former fighter Alberto el Patron last October and former Lucha Underground champion Sexy Star in February.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.