According to ESPN, the WWE has confirmed that former-UFC Champion, Tito Ortiz has been training at the company’s Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It was reported a couple of months ago, that Ortiz was in Orlando meeting with WWE officials in a bit of a ‘feel out’ period to see if there was any mutual interest in a potential deal for the 45-year old. ESPN also noted that he did “very-well” in his recent training sessions.
Ortiz’s last MMA fight came, last December in a winning effort via 1st-round submission over former-WWE champion, Alberto Del Rio in the Mexican-based MMA promotion, Combate Americas. Ortiz also has reportedly signed a multi-fight deal with Combate Americas, in 2019. There is no word on when his next MMA fight will happen or against who.
Ortiz has publicly expressed interest in working in professional wrestling several times over the past few years & is seemingly inching his way towards making that a reality.
Ortiz briefly made appearances for TNA Wrestling in 2005 before leaving the company to continue his MMA career. He returned to the company in 2013 & made sporadic appearances for the promotion & got physical in the ring a few times, without ever officially being booked in a match. Ortiz made his final appearance in Pro Wrestling on August 15th before MMA promotion, Bellator MMA (which Ortiz was signed to) pulled him from any future appearances for TNA to protect him from any potential injury ahead of his PPV bout with Rampage Jackson.
At this time, there is no gauge on how serious the discussions are between the two sides.
Stay tuned with PSE for any updates on the Tito Ortiz/WWE situation & follow me on Twitter (@tvttedwhiteboy)!
