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I didn't and still don't watch sport all that often, but I did see all the Pride fights back in the day, which is when I first saw MMA and I felt that's something I really want to do.
I do believe that Brock Lesnar will be coming back. I don't want to call it from retirement, but he is a huge draw, big guy, sells tickets. So that's a fight I would be interested in.
When I started, I just put my nose to the grindstone, had great trainers and opponents like Fit Finlay, Arn Anderson, Booker T, Umaga and Bob Holly, and good things started to happen.
When you're so physically and emotionally invested in something - like you have to be in MMA - there's nothing like having your friends and family there to support you on fight night.
Golf isn't a sport, it's a game. I'm not saying it's not a difficult game, with lots of mental stuff. But it's not a sport like mine. Where is the combat, the intensity of what we do?
My loss to Marquardt was just one of those things. I made a mistake and got caught. I think I had a lot more to offer in that fight, but he caught me before I had a chance to show it.
Years and years ago, like in 2006, my wife, I didn't have a car, she would drive me to weigh-ins, we would sleep in broken-down motels and I would fight the next day. Just me and her.
There was a lot of pride, being one of the elite fighters in the world, in the best promotion in the world. That's what I was proud of. To be called a UFC fighter, that was important.
I'm generally an optimist, but of course, when you've been with the UFC for a decade and still not had a title shot, there is a little part of you that wonders if it will ever happen.
What matters - the only thing that matters - is winning. It's nice to entertain the fans and to gain new ones, especially from the States, but on the night... that's all that matters.
To me, people are going to judge you no matter what, no matter how you put yourself out there. In my opinion, they can judge however they want to. Hopefully, it's in a positive light.
You can tell when people don't like you. Especially being a black man born and raised in the South in America, you can tell when people don't like you. It's just a skill that you get.
I've had some real hard setbacks in this sport and I learned to realize that you can't really build who you are on what people say. That's ultimately building your foundation in sand.
I think just more that it's okay for fighters to have a self-esteem. I think I've kind of shown that that's okay. And as long as you put the hard work in, you can accomplish anything.
I do jiu-jitsu my whole life, so why would I try to stand and bang with Mike Tyson? I'm going to learn boxing in six months because my opponent is good in boxing? That makes no sense.
Bellator and Viacom want to give fans exciting fights and enable fighters to continue to grow and most importantly provide for their family, and it's something I want to be a part of.
I'm never satisfied, I always want to do better. That's how it is to be an elite athlete, you're never happy. When you start getting happy and you start feeling satisfied, you're done.
I respect all the fighters. I respect Georges St-Pierre because Georges has a great story in the UFC. I respect all the fighters in here because this is the biggest sport in the world.
Whenever I talk about Christ out loud, or I tweet a verse or say something in reference about Christ, a lot of people lash out and aren't very excited to hear about my love for Christ.
It is not easy to go away and come back. One year out of MMA is like five years out of MMA. When you leave and go do something else, like pro wrestling, you're so far behind the times.
The way I stand and my posture really complicates my opponents; they don't understand it and don't know what to do about. The way I stand there in front of them really throws them off.
When I fight, part of the swagger that I had when I used to fight on the street comes out. When I fought on the street, I used to try to embarrass someone for even wanting to fight me.
We handle it from both sides of the coin: from the sport aspect and the entertainment aspect. You gotta have both because we're if not doing solid ratings, we're not going to be on TV.
I was raised in a bit of a hippie environment. I was lying around naked until I was two, having a good time. I think the California mentality is laid back and I definitely embody that.
The longer you stay out of this sport, the less sharp you are, and I've been aware of that; that's why I've stayed and haven't wanted to retire and come back - because you skip a beat.
My second bout with Cro Cop was the hardest. I had a serious injury in my eye during the fight and he knocked me out in the second round. I think it was the closest I've been to death.
I would like to fight in Brazil, but we can fight in Japan or even in the United States. But if it really is against Dan Henderson, I would like it to be in a soccer stadium in Brazil.
I thought that Yoel Romero and Tim Means got the only two tainted bottles of protein in the world. I thought it was crazy. You never know with these companies; you've got to be careful.
Any big task if you look at the grand picture... it seems to big to accomplish, so just watch the footstep in front of you... And that's what I do; try and win little battles every day.
I wrestled at 165 pounds in college. I would actually cut from 205 pounds down to 165, and it wasn't really a big deal for me. With me wrestling all of the time, my body got used to it.
I like to have a lot of time to be able to format what I want to do, and how I'm going to do my training camp. When you're doing a camp on short notice, it makes everything else suffer.
My first injury ever was a broken toe, and my mother made me run laps around the mat for the rest of the night. She said she wanted me to know that even if I was hurt, I was still fine.
Everything you do involves sacrifice. My work is to honor my principles, my opponent, and what I believe in. I stand for it, I fight, and I try to get better every day as a human being.
I'm against all types of drugs and steroids, but the athlete has the right to have a private life. He has to be clean on the day of the competition. Out of competition, that's his life.
My family comes from Panama, and I grew up in a single parent household with my mother, who barely spoke English. She couldn't get a good job, yet there were four of us for her to raise.
A lot of these players, if you listen to the Islanders or the Rangers, they get interviewed in the locker room right after the game, it's very structured answers. They're very protected.
I don't feel pressure in a negative way. I like pressure. I feel excitement and calm at the same time. No pressure, no diamonds. I want pressure: pressure creates drama, creates emotion.
My passion's always been about helping the youth, and this is no different, except the issue are 21, 22, 23 years old and maybe even older than that, but they're very young in MMA World.
Martial arts has been a way of life for me since I was a young kid. It created a discipline and respect for everything. Martial arts has just made me a better person. It's a way of life.
I'm open to fighting at 185 or 205 pounds, but I think I need to give this 185-pound run a real, honest crack. Being at this weight class has definitely made me into a different fighter.
I got a lot of body paint on me in a short period of time. I would definitely do it again because Joann Gair is so brilliant, but I would definitely need, like, a good long break for it.
Going to train out at Joel Diaz's out in Indio, I've trained with the Lomachenkos, I've seen Terrence Crawford's camp - I think that would be a super intriguing thing to get involved in.
Two guys enter the cage and only one comes out the winner. It gets you pumped because you know the other guy is trying to finish you and you want to finish him before he gets his chance.
It's always something; it's never going to be something that's pleasing. People will always find something to say, and once you become comfortable with that, you can walk away and smile.
If someone saw a movie of your life so far, when the credits rolled, would they say, “Wow, that was awesome?” Or would they scratch their heads and say, “I wonder what that was all about?
Ovince Saint Preux needs to know that not only me but every other guy at the American Kickboxing Academy are ready and open to open those doors in trying to help him accomplish his goals.
The difference between me and other black belts is that I truly believe that jujitsu can be used in all aspects of MMA, because it was created to do that. If you train hard, it will work.
I want to use every second of my life, every time that I have in my life, to make me a better fighter. That's why I'm a martial artist. For me, it's more than a job - it's a way of living
I wanted to drop the weight class to go to the 125s, and I played it off on how easy it was going to be. 'I can do this, no problem, I always cut weight.' I pushed my body to the extreme.
Ribs are a real tricky thing: you don't really know when they're going to heal, especially when mine weren't broken. I don't know what it was, exactly - either a deep bruise or cartilage.