Alberto Del Rio To Bellator MMA?

The UFC isn't the only show in town looking to sign wrestlers.

A report on PW Insider has thrown another wrinkle into the story of the sporting world's reignited fascination with pro wrestlers crossing over to the MMA realm. According to the report, which quotes sources within Spike TV close to Bellator, the promotion is looking at signing professional wrestlers past and present to shore up their talent roster. The hope is, apparently, that the mic abilities of pro wrestlers will allow them to sell themselves to the fan base, and also create the opportunity for the promotion to create "storylines" going into fights. Before you roll your eyes over the "storylines" bit, this has been done before. Chael Sonnen was essentially playing a character when he called out other fighters, and got himself into all sorts of "storylines." Fighters have staged feuds for the sake of ratings, and looking at Bellator in particular, they've gone so far as to create semi-humorous vignettes featuring fighters like David "The Caveman" Rickels - who also walked to the cage at Bellator 94 with a life-sized dinosaur in tow. One of the names highlighted by the report was Alberto Del Rio, real name José Alberto Rodríguez, who has a rather interesting background in the MMA world. Fighting under the name Dos Caras, Jr. as recently as 2010, Rodriguez compiled a 9-5 record in professional mixed martial arts, and fought under the legendary Pride banner, once losing to the then-feared Croatian star Mirko Cro-Cop. He has been out of the UFC for a bit, competing in Mexican pro wrestling outfit AAA currently, where he is their heavyweight champion. Given Del Rio/Rodriguez's status as a former WWE champ with a legit MMA background, this could be a solid move. He's 37, but with an already established MMA background, he would not be starting from scratch. Though it's unlikely he'd make a run at a title even in the thin ranks of Bellator, under Scott Coker, the company has proven that it will put some fun fights on the mid-card, and Coker is the man who gave Herschel Walker a chance in the cage a few years back (the former NFL player won both his Strikeforce fights). The other name to appear on Spike/Bellator's wishlist? Brock Lesnar. That one, of course, is a given - any promotion would want him given what he'd draw in the way of viewers. In Bellator, Lesnar would also have an easier route to the title.
Contributor
Contributor

Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.