"You know, having certain alliances with certain people has probably hindered my relationship with the UFC. But what's going to happen is they're going to run out of guys to fight each other and they can only build up 3 to 4 guys. After Kongo, Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar, Couture and Nogueira, they can only play those fights so many different ways. Even with the guys they're building up, like Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin, that's only a select few heavyweights. Once they fight each other a couple of times, they're going to need some guys to come back. My time will come," stated former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez as he talked his upcoming fight, his future plans and much more. Check it out!

PC: How have you been doing Ricco?

RR: I've been doing really well. Thank you!

PC: How has your training been going for your upcoming fights?

RR: It's been going really well. I've been training with Michael Bisping, Cheick Kongo and I got to work with Paul Kelly. All of the guys over at Wolfslair brought me out there to coach the team and work with Michael for the Henderson fight. While I was out there training with Bisping, I got to work on myself. I was coming off of shoulder surgery, so it's been 6 months since I've fought. I just fought in Tyler, Texas on June 27th. I fought there against Doug Williams and it was my first fight back since the MFA Fight in Miami against Jeff Monson, which I lost by decision. I'm coming off of a 5 to 6 month layoff and I keylocked Williams in 1:02. This Friday, I'm fighting out in WFC in St Petersburg, Florida and I'm going to be fighting against Mario Rinaldi from American Top Team. After that, I will be fighting for Rich Climente's show 2 weeks later against John Brown. So I'm staying busy; very active. I'm just training really hard and working with a great group of guys training out of TapouT. I'm really blessed to work with some guys here in Vegas. Coming out here to Las Vegas, you get to work with some star athletes.

PC: You lost a lot of time due to injury and you had some personal issues. Is the key now to just stay busy?

RR: For me, to just stay consistent with the training and the nutrition. I noticed that when I have a fight, it keeps me on my toes. I'm able to workout, train and stay out of trouble. My kids keep me in check, but it's a process and I'm excited about it. My record is 35-10, which is a decent record. I've fought in all of the top organizations. I'm excited to be getting the opportunity that a lot of these other athletes are getting.

PC: You have been through a lot inside and outside of the cage. What keeps you motivated to still compete in the sport?

RR: You know, my biggest goal right now is to see my record at 50 wins. That's my own personal goal. That's number one. And number two, I really have just been fighting and taking care of the family and to be able to train and make money and to see myself getting back to the tier companies. I'm just happy with working on myself right now and getting myself in the best shape and that's what I've been doing. I weighed in at 247 pounds in Tyler, Texas. I haven't seen that weight in like 3 years.

PC: Mixed martial arts seems to be a sport where you can find yourself. Is that one of your comfort zones in finding yourself to just stick around the sport; because you're still getting called up from guys like Bisping to train with him. Does that surprise you a little that the respect level for you is still there?

RR: I was one of the guys that worked with guys like Ken Shamrock, Mark Kerr, Sakuraba and Tito Ortiz. You know I trained with a Black Belt background from the Machado Brothers. I've done some big things with some big guys. The truth of the matter is a lot of people still remember me from the old school days. A lot of the guys that I've been with and worked with helped build the sport. I've been lucky to still be involved in the game, you know what I mean?

PC: No doubt! I remember watching you on "Celebrity Rehab" and you were saying you didn't even expect to live this long, so it has to be a pleasure to not only be alive, but get a second chance and still be competing?

RR: Sometimes you get down in a hole and the only person that can pick you up is yourself, when you get down that low and you have a reason to fight, whether it's your personal life or your family or even personal goals. I found in life, the only people that respect you is the ones that see you have respect for yourself. I'm capable of being the best athlete in the world at the sport. I'm only 31 years old. I have a new vision and a new point of view on life and my kids have motivated me to go back and fight. But at the same time, I know what I'm capable of doing. I'm training with the top guys, working out with them every single day and hanging with the guys who are on top of the sport and I know it's definitely possible to do anything. I'm training hard, working out and eating right. And I want to build my own academy. That's what I will be doing. I'm working on settling down in the Mandeville and Slidell area and there is plenty of possibility to open up my academy there. My biggest thing right now is to settle down and be with my kids. I've been bouncing around and like you said, I've been training a lot of athletes. I've been doing seminars and traveling for 15 years of my life, so it's time for me to kind of settle down and make it to where people come to me now.

PC: You've had wins over Randy Couture, Jeff Monson, Andrei Arlovski and the list goes on and on. You also held the UFC heavyweight championship at one point. Is it a little awkward to not be involved with the UFC 100 festivities?

RR: No! There are still some political issues that a lot of people don't understand that goes along with the sport. You know, having certain alliances with certain people has probably hindered my relationship with the UFC. But what's going to happen is they're going to run out of guys to fight each other and they can only build up 3 to 4 guys. After Kongo, Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar, Couture and Nogueira, they can only play those fights so many different ways. Even with the guys they're building up, like Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin, that's only a select few heavyweights. Once they fight each other a couple of times, they're going to need some guys to come back. My time will come. We just need some time to cool down the flames so to speak.

PC: Were you and Rich Climente real cool? How did it come about for you to fight on his card?

RR: My ex and I used to go visit her family in Louisiana and Rich Climente had a school down there and he invited me down there to come train with his guys. I've been coming down there since 2006 and he's always been a polite gentleman. He's always invited me to come in there and workout and he's made it very home-like for me to come to Slidell and train with his guys. All of his guys are great people and he is an entrepreneur in the sport as well as far as his fight record. He competed in the UFC, he has his own fight promotion and he's just a great guy and someone who I've really gotten along with, which has been really cool to me. It's nice to come down there and work out with him and just be around a great group of guys. They train really hard at his academy. I've been around the world and back and I've trained at all of the top dojos and his academy has everything you need to fight for the top organizations.

PC: You are only 31, but it seems like you've been around forever. How much longer would you like to compete in mixed martial arts?

RR: On a professional level, I don't see myself going past 35 or 36 years old. I don't see me going past another 5 or 6 years and if so, maybe I'll go back to competitive Jiu Jitsu with the Gi just because the Machado's have shown me a lifestyle that I'm accustomed to and that's training Jiu Jitsu. Jiu Jitsu has really become a part of my life and it's really helped to keep me on a straight arrow. Every time I drift away from it, I find myself not knowing who I am, so I might go back to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training in a Gi because Jiu Jitsu has changed my life. If you've never trained it or never experienced it, you should give it a try.

PC: Is there anybody out there Ricco that reminds you of yourself any?

RR: Not really. I think my style was a lot different than everybody else. Everybody has their own style now and put a little bit of a twist on it. Me and Tito kind of had a little bit of a similar style with the ground and pound. When I fought for the UFC, I had 5 TKOs. I finished pretty much everybody that I fought against. A lot of the guys weren't getting the knockout or the submission, but there weren't a lot of guys that would just wear and tear someone down, so my style was a little bit different than anybody elses.

PC: What can the fans here in Louisiana expect from Ricco Rodriguez on the 25th?

RR: Listen, if you've never seen a tier guy fight in person, it's totally different. It's a lot of action and you get to see a former UFC heavyweight champion go to work. I see myself making a comeback in this sport. I'm just happy to fight as much as I can and since I'm going to be in and out of Louisiana, a lot people will be able to see what I'm capable of doing. Hopefully I can build a fan base in Louisiana and people will be excited to see me fight and hopefully I will be able to keep working down there, show my face and see what people are doing.

PC: Definitely! Well, we have to hang out after your fight bro. Good luck in all of your upcoming fights. Is there anything you want to say in closing?

RR: I just want to give a shout out to Rich Climente for bringing me down there. I have to shout out my sponsors for taking care of me, OTM, Fairtex and Lexani Rims, they have all just been great to me. And I want to wish good luck to all the guys at UFC 100. If you've never been to Rich Climente's shows, definitely come on out and have a great time, check it out and come to see me fight. I promise it's going to be a great show and you will have a great time.