Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Power and speed aren't enough to overcome someone who is strategic, who knows what you'll do before you do it and can turn it on you; someone who is mentally engaged and combines the whole package.
Sonnen, to me, he's a great athlete, but he created that image so much for himself that people don't think he's that good. They just think he talks. So I think it's a risk you run when you do that.
Every fight is like a different landscape of what you go through. But sometimes it's small injuries. Sometimes it's lessons you walk away with. Every fight is different but they all hurt, for sure.
When my kids grow up, my goal is someday, someone will come up to them and say, 'Your dad was an amazing person.' Not saying I was an amazing fighter but a genuine person. That's what I strive for.
I started out with Buzz Sawyer in Sacramento. He had me shoot on guys and beat them up. They tossed me a few bones here and there. But, after Buzz passed away, I started seeking training elsewhere.
I do watch some of my losses, but it just makes me think, 'Well, you know, should have done this; could have done that.' But that's why I don't like watching it. It's a shoulda/coulda/woulda thing.
I swear to God, I don't even know who Demi Lovato is. My son has a crush on her. Apparently, he was sat next to her when I knocked Luke Rockhold out, so Demi Lovato knows who I am, that's for sure.
I have so many other talents other than fighting, and I would love to be able to show those off. I would like to say, 'Yes, I'm a fighter, and I'm this,' or, 'Yes I'm a fighter, but I'm also this.'
Obviously, CM Punk is a really big draw for the UFC. He's going to bring a lot of eyes to the UFC, and the better he does, the better it'll be for all MMA fighters as far as sponsorships and stuff.
To be honest, in 2012, I was against both candidates, and so I just picked any third party because I thought if more people voted for third parties then they'd have to take third parties seriously.
When women say that going on publications directed at men is somehow demeaning, I don't think that's true. I think that's one really effective way to change the societal standard women are held to.
I didn't pick wrestling over football. My coaches picked that for me. I never wanted to wrestle in college. I always wanted to play football. They thought I was too small, but I had a lot of heart.
I want to create a better environment for the kids who look up to me. I want them to know I'm not a perfect man, but I am a man who is willing to pay the price to do what is right. That's who I am.
You don't want the fight to stop on a cut or something like that. You want to finish the fight. You always have the idea that you have the chance to stay in a fight, because one blow can end it all.
Guys always get jealous or envious of an opportunity, but they never wanna walk out to the mound and point to the crowd and tell them where they're going to hit the ball. I will. I'll call my shots.
I take inspiration from everyone and everything. I'm inspired by current champions, former champions, true competitors, people dedicated to their dream, hard workers, dreamers, believers, achievers.
I'm just a kid that defied the odds. I'm just a kid that ignored the doubt. I'm just a kid from a little place in Dublin, Ireland, that went all the way, and I'm going to continue to go all the way.
I didn't grow up with a lot of money, so my mom didn't have random money to buy me a car, and I didn't have money to have a car unless I worked, so I didn't get a car until I got my first job at 18.
For me, fighting is just so fun; I love it. It's just what I enjoy doing, and for me to go out there and go wake boarding and go rock climbing and then turn around and go fight, how awesome is that?
Where most kids play stickball and hockey, I'd walk down the streets with two sets of boxing gloves and knock on my friend's door and see if he wanted to box. There were boxing gyms on every corner.
I'm not going to please everyone; not everyone's going to like me. I accepted that a long time ago, and if I had to shed a tear every time I got a hate email, believe me, I'd be severely dehydrated.
I have Georges St-Pierre out here telling me 'you really think I'm afraid of you, man?' and I'm like you should be, bro. You should be scared out of your mind. I'll tell you what, I'm scared of him.
I never want to get content. I never want to think that I'm at a certain spot and I'm gonna stay there, because this organization's hard to stay in, and this is the wrong place to get complacent in.
From a kid who didn't come from much success growing up but watched Muhammad Ali and Hulk Hogan, to where I am today... I tell kids, 'You can achieve anything you want as long as you stick with it.'
Who sees Wanderlei Silva today, with all the marketing, with a good gym and getting paid well to fight, they don't know the difficulties I went through. I went through a lot of hardships in my life.
I'm the type of person where, at the end of the game, if there's 10 seconds left, and you need to get somebody the ball, and you're behind by one, give me the ball. Get me the ball every single time.
The first time I fought Mike Chandler, I was thinking about money way too much. I was thinking about the end of my contract. My focus was way off. I didn't believe in the people that were guiding me.
I'm not sure what the UFC's agenda is when it comes to me. It's their show, their press. They can change to whatever they want to do at any point. They own this thing. They can do whatever they want.
If I'm the promoter and I've got a fighter named 'Rampage' who likes to slam people and knock them out, the last thing I would do is put him in a fight with someone who's good at holding people down.
One thing you gotta take into consideration is that it's professional wrestling, and you know it going in. There's dangers to every profession, and our particular profession, concussions is one thing.
{Losing can be a great motivator] but not if it drains your confidence. One of the reasons I got into this game was because I wanted to learn how to get myself comfortable in uncomfortable situations.
I've read a lot of books on the laws of attraction, and in my home I have a big book on Muhammad Ali, which I've read, because he is like a hero of mine, but other than that, no, I'm not a big reader.
I have a deep, deep belief that if I tell you I'm going to crack you with a clean shot to the chin inside one minute of the first round and you will be unconscious, well, then that's what will happen.
Is there any hungry fighters out there that say they don't get paid enough by the UFC? I tell you what: Cowboy's got the answer. Sign on the line. I don't care where you're at on the roster. Let's go.
There is always pressure in this game and outside of it but as long as you control what you can control the pressure will be used to my advantage, like what the saying goes 'no pressure, no diamonds'.
If the fights that I take make sense, and there is not a 27-year-old number one contender in the world, then I'll probably be interested in doing fights that make sense and fights that are marketable.
Drew McFedries was the hardest hitter I've ever been around. A big, strong, athletic guy with power. He didn't have to hit you with a hard shot or load up - even the little short shots could hurt you.
I have such a big family, sometimes, I was wondering, when is it going to be my turn? There's always a brother who's older, younger, bigger, stronger, faster, I was like, 'hey, give me a chance guys.'
My idea is to have two bases. I keep my family in Rio, and when I have a fight scheduled, I will come to Vegas to train here at Xtreme Couture, which I consider the best place for a MMA fighter to be.
I mean I love movement. I mean the energy that comes from the way I move. We get energy from how we move. I mean the control I get from knowing everything about how my body feels and how it is working.
Lying is a false significance of speech, with a will to deceive, which cannot be cured but by shame and reason; it is a monstrous and wicked evil, that filthily depraved and defileth the tongue of man.
You know, when you've been to the top, you get comfortable, and you know what it feels like to be a champion, to have nice things and all that. You know, it's just not as appealing as it was coming up.
At the end of the day, that's just boxing - it's a different sport altogether. But when I finish fighting for the UFC, there are so many different options I have. Boxing is another option I could take.
I'm a big believer in the system, but I just don't think we follow our own system and laws very well. I think ultimately we'll see the system collapse. Because no system has ever stayed around forever.
In America, you've got a lot of fair-weather fans, who be cheering for you hard and as soon as you lose a fight, you're a bum and then they come at you on social media and they give you a lot of slack.
What's wrong with being a two-sport athlete? You've got Deion Sanders. You've got Bo Jackson. You've got Michael Jordan; he wasn't a very good baseball player. There's nothing wrong with crossing over.
As long as you're willing to soak up information and learn from anyone who is worth learning from, that helps you out so much. I can become a new fighter, I can learn new tricks, I can improve my game.
It's a sport about risk and reward. It's a sport about becoming a legend. You look at guys that have stepped up on last minute, and it changed their lives. I don't think that I should be any different.
A lot of people don't understand my reasoning behind wanting to fight big fights and big names. Knocking off these big names in fights really solidifies me as the best welterweight that's ever done it.
I want to be a multi-time champion. I want to be a multiple division champion. I still have a lot of goals; it is a matter of staying the course, being consistent and persistent, and making it happens.