Joe Giudice fought the law, and the law won, but he's now looking to take his fighting skills into an MMA ring.
As a judge reviews his deportation case, the former "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star has been working out and training hard while being detained, Page Six reported on Wednesday.
"He's a trained martial artist," a source told the New York Post's gossip section. "He wants to compete and he wants to compete now, in not martial arts, but mixed martial arts."
Joe, 47, faces an uphill battle, not only in the ring, but outside of it. Last year, as he was wrapping up his 41-month prison sentence for fraud, an immigration judge ordered Joe to be deported back to his native Italy. The reality TV star appealed the decision, but in August, a judge ruled against Joe's appeal to stay in America. He has appealed again, all while he sits in ICE custody. A judge has not ruled on his second appeal.
Still, his unenviable situation hasn't apparently stopped him from working on himself. Page Six said Teresa Giudice's husband now weighs 165, down 50 pounds from when he first reported to prison in March 2016.
"According to him, he's been doing a lot of the exercises and a lot of the routines that he learned when he got his black belt," the source said. "He's been eating right, exercising, staying in shape, getting his body right and he feels like, as far as his condition, he feels stronger than he did when he was in his twenties."
"This is one of the things that he is adamant about and he has been speaking about it for quite some time. He didn't just cook this up last night," the insider added. "It's one of the reasons why he's worked so hard to stay in shape and get in shape and whatnot."
Last week, Joe's attorney argued that Joe ought to be able to wait out his deportation case at home, saying ICE conditions were "inhumane."
"What is happening to Joe Giudice and to his family and thousands of other families regarding these draconian immigration laws is nothing short of inhumane," Giudice family attorney, James Leonard Jr., told TMZ. "We are praying for some sort of relief tomorrow from the Court. This family has paid their debt to society and then some. Enough is enough."
A judge has not ruled on Joe's plea.
Joe's wife has said she and their four daughters will not follow Joe to Italy if he is ultimately deported.