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Fighting, to me, has always been something different than what everybody's else opinion is. I've never believed what everybody else has.
I want to go get that 145-pound belt. That's definitely a huge motivation for me. I believe with Greg Jackson's help, I can get that done.
I don't know where that thought came from and I don't know why I had that thought, but I thought I was the best fighter on the whole planet.
Training in Brazil at Nova Uniao was nothing short of amazing. I can't thank Leo Santos and coach Andre Pederneiras enough for their efforts.
I know there are a lot of others who are willing to take shortcuts for the sake of money, but when I see that... I get real irritated. I hate it.
Jiu jitsu is a great art for self-defense. But jiu jitsu alone won't get you to a world championship in the UFC or even a winning record sometimes.
I think I could do good against some of the top welterweights. Yeah, pretty big guys, but you gotta live some times, you gotta step up sometime, huh?
I don't want to be the guy who said 'I could have did this, and I could have did that.' I want to be the guy to know if I could have or I couldn't do it.
I do get pumped up about it when I go different places and people are like 'come on! You gotta fight again! You gotta fight again!' But it's a lot of work.
My greatest moment in my whole career is when I became the first non-Brazilian to win the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world championship. That was my greatest moment.
When the whole fighting thing started, I never knew at the end it was going to be all about your record. I never had that mentality. I wanted to fight everybody.
The lion doesn't care that the sheep laugh at him. Remember that. The lion just stays there. The animals make noise and tease. The guy with the belt is the lion.
For me Keith Kizer can't be trusted, the head of the Athletic Commission can't be trusted. I never want to fight under the Nevada State Athletic Commission again.
Do people talk about Kenny Florian coming from a wealthy family and all this? I don't think they do. People say these things about me when they don't even know me.
The last thing I'm trying to do is trying to look to go out into a fight. Ask anybody who knows me, I'm not the first guy to go around and just start pushing people.
We see fighters fight their whole career and never get a title shot. It doesn't matter if they rack up 10 wins if people think they're boring. We all know how it works.
I've always thought that being in the UFC is what the name suggests: Ultimate Fighting Championship. As time went on, people started learning to use the rules that suit them.
You just go out there, you've got to keep training, keeping training as hard as you can and keep winning fights. The only thing that's real is the fight. Everything else is fake.
I live my life my way. I try to do the right thing, but I know there are going to be people who aren't happy with what I do or say no matter what, so I'm not going to worry about it.
The sport has definitely moved beyond that founding idea of MMA, but without a doubt we wouldn't be sitting here right now if the Gracies didn't come here and teach their style and create the UFC.
Some guys are athletes and some guys are fighters. But, whether I look down on that or not, they're just out there trying to do the best job they can to put food on the table, so I can't be too hard on them.
It isn't always the funnest feeling, sparring three days a week, getting punched in the face at 38 years old, it might not always be the funnest feeling but it's better than a lot of other things. I love it.
It does blow me away, though, when I see Werdum just got the belt at 37 and then you see Mark Hunt still fighting at 40. All these different things. It is amazing. I don't know. They're out there, they're doing it.
It is not constantly in my head that I am a champion or a UFC fighter. I forget about that. It is very important to other people, and I am glad to have the support, but fighting is my passion. It is what I like to do.
My best moment in the UFC, I guess now that I look back, I guess my biggest accomplishment is the two belts in two weight classes. I really wanted to see if I could make it three, but you know, you're talking about the best guys in the world.
There's just something about BJ Penn that gets people amped up. You don't know what's going to happen but something is going to happen. He might disappoint you, make you happy, make you cry or make you jump out of your chair, but he'll do something to you.
Mixed martial arts, UFC, or what have you, I don't think it has anything to do with rankings. It doesn't have to do with 'this guy beat this guy so he deserves a title shot.' It might be like that every once in a while, but this is entertainment and the two biggest names - the best story.
You look at somebody like Frankie Edgar and you think, 'oh, that little guy,' this and that. But these guys, they want it. And even if you're sitting there and you think you've figured something out, or got something you're going to surprise somebody with, the first thing you've got to do is have more heart than these guys.
Hawaiians are mellow people, but we all live on an island so we see each other all the time. So like you either got to be real nice, because once you have a problem with somebody, you're gonna see them over and over and over, and you're gonna end up fighting. That's why we fight. We're all stuck in one area. You can't get away.