PDA

View Full Version : Ricco Rodriguez over zijn drugsproblemen, rehab en zijn partij met Antonio Silva



Yamato Damashii
16-02-2008, 12:32
Rodriguez ready to fight again despite setbacks
by JACK ENCARNACAO, The Fight Network

Updated: February 15, 2008, 9:00 PM EST Comment RSS digg blog email print "It took me losing it to realize it," Ricco Rodriguez said during a conversation about his fighting career, run-ins with the law and losing custody of his son.

Then he paused briefly to consider whether or not the quote might be the theme of his tumultuous life.

The former UFC heavyweight champion is in the throes of the most trying of times. In July, the state of California took emergency custody of his 19-month-old son after a series of domestic disputes with his girlfriend and drug- and alcohol-related incidents involving authorities.

His history is not just the subject of whispering or behind-the-scenes gossip. Recently, it's been broadcast to a nationwide audience as part of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew," an intense reality show in which Rodriguez spills his soul about the unstable life he's led since falling from the mixed martial arts spotlight.

Rodriguez has revealed a series of chilling facts about his past on the show, including his being molested as a child. He was introduced as he told the story of an incident where, after crashing his car into an 18-wheeler and a wall, he draped his girlfriend's body over the steering wheel to escape the legal ramifications of being behind the wheel on a suspended license. He didn't think his girlfriend was alive, though she did survive.

"If I put it out there, it's because I'm honest and it's the [expletive] I've been through in my life," Rodriguez says. "I made some bad choices, and that's just the truth. I have to live with them. You have to take responsibility for what you've done...I know I don't want that to happen to my children. I'm breaking the cycle in life."

There's the personal cycle and the professional cycle for Rodriguez, and if the two weren't so closely intertwined, perhaps he could compartmentalize his challenges. He's stepping into his fight against Antonio Silva (9-1) at EliteXC "Street Certified" on Saturday as he battles a series of emotions that make tunnel vision impossible.

"My plate is full. Getting my family back...anything else comes second behind that for me right now," says Rodriguez (27-7), who will take on Silva at the BankUnited Center in Miami, Fla. The show will be headlined by a heavyweight grudge match between Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and David "Tank" Abbott.

Needing to demonstrate to childcare officials a commitment to getting back on his feet, Rodriguez relocated to Las Vegas to train at Randy Couture's Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts facility. The experience has been a positive one.

"It puts me in the proper focus, and I'm excited," he says. "It puts some sun back in my life."

Six years ago, it looked like Couture would be the one seeking pointers from Rodriguez.

In a stellar 2002 performance at UFC 39, the then 25-year-old Rodriguez became heavyweight champion as he forced Couture to submit to strikes in the fifth round after breaking the Hall-of-Famer's orbital bone with an elbow strike. It was Rodriguez's 11th consecutive win, a streak that included stoppages of Andrei Arlovski, Jeff Monson and Paul Buentello.

In 2003, Rodriguez took current interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria to the limit in a three-round PRIDE battle that he lost on a controversial decision. Rodriguez was one of the most respected heavyweights in the world, revered for his quickness on the ground and his ability to finish the weight class' elite.

Fast forward to 2007. The UFC had reached unprecedented levels of success. Fighters Rodriguez had defeated soundly were enjoying the highest level of exposure mixed martial artists had ever experienced in the United States. Having flunked a drug test for cocaine and marijuana in 2006, he was competing on low-level shows in California against opponents with little name value as if the former heavyweight champion was just getting started in the sport.

Word spread of the failed drug test and eventually paved the way for Rodriguez to be cast on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew," which premiered last month. A Las Vegas agent Rodriguez knew caught wind of the news and contacted him about doing the show. He agreed to it.

"My number one concern was getting better," Rodriguez says. "Without my being sober, there was no future, there was no career. It wasn't a tactic to get exposure. It was more for me to get myself straight."

Rodriguez brought much more to the Pasadena, Calif., recovery center than the intriguing story of a fallen UFC heavyweight king.

"At the time, no one knew about the domestic violence," said Rodriguez, who hushed fellow cast members with his account of the aforementioned car crash. "I'd never been on a reality show; I've never been in a rehab facility. [Dr. Drew Pinsky] educated me on the addiction and the disease, on the whole situation. I needed someone to educate me. To be honest with you, I think it was as real as any rehab. It was about people's emotions, people's problems, people's situations."

Rodriguez wrapped filming of the show in September and this past week shot a reunion episode that catches up with patients.

Just five days after he got out of rehab, Rodriguez confronted a sobering reality — he needed money. He put the UFC title belt he won from Couture in 2002 up for sale on eBay and accepted a tough International Fight League bout against Ben Rothwell with negligible time to prepare.

"I was in such a stupor; I needed to financially get my head on straight and kind of take care of the family," Rodriguez says. "I got this opportunity to fight. I wasn't in the best shape of my life. I took the fight."

Rodriguez dropped a unanimous decision to Rothwell at the IFL World Championship on Sept. 20. Some trash talking preceded the bout, and Rodriguez spit at Rothwell in the closing seconds of the third round.

The fight was eventful if nothing else, and there was interest in Rodriguez again. After a TKO win in the Philippines in December, he was contacted by EliteXC and signed a five-fight deal with the promotion. He's being thrown right into the thick of things with his match against Silva — a versatile, agile former super heavyweight who trains with the rock-solid American Top Team in Florida.

Rodriguez guesses Silva will come into the cage Saturday at the 265-pound limit, and he intends to weigh as much.

"Antonio Silva, to me, is the top guy in EliteXC right now," he says. "There's nobody better than him right now. Win or lose with Antonio Silva, I'm going to go out there and showcase my best skills."

Rodriguez is far from guaranteeing victory in the fight. But considering the precipice he's come to in his life, just getting into the cage on a big stage represents a kind of moral victory.

"I'm 30 years old, and I feel like I'm 60. I've been through a lot," Rodriguez says. "A lot of people out there just don't understand that life throws you plenty of curveballs; it's how you deal with them that makes you a man. It's not the fact of who has more money, who's the best fighter. It's about how you deal with those problems."

----------------------
Bron:
FOX Sports on MSN - Boxing - Rodriguez ready to fight again despite setbacks (http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/7802970/Rodriguez-ready-to-fight-again-despite-setbacks)

Evilman
16-02-2008, 14:11
thnx. heb niet zoveel met ricco maar hij heeft n toptijd gehad.
en ik denk dat hij die tegen silva niet terug gaat halen.

fijn voor m dat ie voor zichzelf al overwint door ervoor te gaan

Biiyen
16-02-2008, 14:38
Inderdaad goeie vechter geweest en kan zeker op routine mee maar vanavond tegen Silva zal hij het niet trekken.

MB667
16-02-2008, 14:42
zielig voor hem, maar wel smerig want die met zijn vriendin tijdens dat auto incident probeerde te doen.

dtgerald
17-02-2008, 15:46
Hij is aardig afgetraind zag ik.

YoMarK
17-02-2008, 20:21
Dat is een grapje hoop ik :)
Anyway, hij ziet er wel weer een stuk beter uit dan een jaar geleden.