The cameras started recording and Alberto El Patron began cutting a promo right on cue as if he were still with the WWE.
“Let’s make MMA great again!” he said, his arms crossed, wearing a President Trump-like wig. “That’s what we’re doing in Combate Americas. Titio Ortiz … you and I are going to be facing each other inside la jaula (the cage in Spanish) December the 7th.”
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The promo was El Patron’s way of plucking at both the 45th Commander-in-Chief and Ortiz in one shot … and for good reason.
The former WWE superstar and first Mexican WWE champ doesn’t appreciate Trump’s divisiveness, especially in accordance to the portrayal the president paints of Mexicans entering the U.S.
“I was born in Mexico, but I was made in America,” El Patron told Sporting News. “I’ve had the privilege of becoming American this year on the day of my birthday, May 25. Of course, I’m proud of being Mexican, I’m proud of being brown, but I love this country. Just like me, there’s millions and millions of people coming to this country to work hard and live the American dream.
“But the moment you start pointing fingers and saying this country is this, this country is that, these people are this, these people are that, you make people fight,” he continued. “When you say Mexicans are this and that, you put the people, not just the country, but the people in a really bad place.”
The fact that Ortiz, whose father is Mexican, is a proud and open Trump supporter makes El Patron cringe even more. He's aware of Ortiz appearing on Trump's former reality show "The Celebrity Apprentice," but can't believe that the former UFC champ agrees with the president's ideals.
“I don’t understand why he’s wearing that red hat saying Making America Great Again,” El Patron said of Ortiz donning the MAGA hat. “America has never stopped being great.
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“The last time we saw each other, he was wearing a Border Patrol hat,” he added. “He said it was to pay respect to those heroes defending our borders. But why are you doing this when you’re in front of a Mexican that was born in Mexico?”
Those political differences helped pave the way for El Patron to face Ortiz in a Combate Americas pay-per-view Saturday night in what has been billed “Tito vs. Alberto: Which side are you on?” The clash will take place at the Payne Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, right at the U.S.-Mexico border for good measure.
While Saturday is a jam-packed day for combat sports, with Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Anthony Joshua 2 happening in Saudi Arabia and the UFC in Washington D.C., Combate has been able to generate plenty of interest with this politically-driven card. Jorge Masvidal, the UFC’s newly-crowned BMF champion, will reportedly be part of Combate’s broadcast booth offering what’s bound to be colorful commentary on Tito vs. Alberto.
While El Patron is part of Combate’s front office, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pull a Triple H-like move and fight on one of the cards he’s helping to promote.
“We’re committed to make this company grow even more,” El Patron said.
