Positive energy helps Ricco Rodriguez battle the odds

Originally posted by the Tampa Tribune

TAMPA - Ricco Rodriguez is choosing to stand and fight.

As easy as it could have been to turn and run from his past, quietly tucking away the pieces of his life deemed unsavory, he's made the decision to face it head-on.

After joining the first season of Celebrity Rehab on VH1 with Dr. Drew Pinsky, Rodriguez laid everything on the line. He told of being abused as a child and wrecking his car, severely injuring his girlfriend. He recounted the fight that landed the two in jail and his then-1-year-old son in protective custody. All of which came at the hands of alcohol and drugs.

"Coming from New York and not having a lot of money, moving out when I was 17 and going through trials and tribulations just like I'm sure a lot of people have, to reach that successes and not have a mentor look over you and say, hey, this is the right path to go down and this is the wrong path to go down," Rodriguez admitted.

"My father was taken from me at a young age and the truth of the matter is I didn't have anybody here to tell me right form wrong. I learned from hands on experience."

Not long after shocking Mixed Martial Arts fans with his verbal submitting of Ultimate Fighting Championship legend Randy Couture in UFC 39 in 2002 and winning the heavyweight title, things went awry.

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