Back in October of last year, it was announced that Alberto Del Rio (or Alberto El Patron, if you prefer) would serve as the figurehead and acting president for Combate Americas, an MMA promotion that focuses on Latino fighters. It looks like his time as president of that company is over — for now. But the people involved want to make it clear that this has nothing to do with the current situation involving a police investigation into an airport altercation with WWE Superstar Paige.
MMA Uno reports that Campbell McLaren, CEO of Combate Americas, has stated that El Patron will be stepping down from his role as president of the company. According to McLaren, El Patron wants time away from the MMA promotion in order to focus on his wrestling career.
“[ … ] What Alberto has said to me, and we haven’t unveiled this yet, but we can talk about it, he’s probably stepping back his official roles from Combate and he’s going to focus on more on wrestling for the next year or two [ … ]
“I think he’s reaching a point in his career when he knows that the physical demands of wrestling are not what he wants to continue doing, but I think he knows he’s got a couple of years still left to keep maintaining his level of performance,” McLaren said. “It’s a very challenging enterprise and I think it’s very, very hard on the body and difficult to do. Very physical, very athletic, so I he’s kind of asked me if he can step away and with Saraya, focus on wrestling.”
Judging by McLaren’s wording, the door is open for El Patron to return to the fold at any time, although whether he will return as president and face of the company is a bridge they’ll have to cross at that time.
