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When people first started watching UFC, it seemed like a no-holds barred event... early on it looked like all the fighters were crazy. Actually, there are a lot of techniques, and the reality shows have let people see the fighters behind the scenes.
The problem with these UFC fighters - and they're all fantastic athletes, top of the line in the entire world - is that they wear their bodies down in these training camps. All these guys that are cutting weight are just destroying their own bodies.
I'm just asking for a fair shake. You see a lot of these guys, a lot of these other champions making what they're making. I'm not trying to take anything away from them, but I feel like I'm one of the more exciting fighters under contract in the UFC.
Getting knocked out in your underwear in the Octagon is pretty embarrassing, but people are like, 'The guy he's fighting is really, really good, and he is a UFC fighter, so he can still beat up 99 percent of the world,' so it's not that embarrassing.
I thought Al Iaquinta did a great job at UFC 223, but Khabib is going to say he won the Super Bowl after he faced the third string? No way, dude. So many people hold him up on a high horse, but I see his flaws. I wasn't impressed with anything he did.
I fight for everybody, national and international, no matter where they are. I want to help those athletes. Not only those in the UFC - those that are in the big league and can have a better future - but those in the small promotions and need our help.
There will always be something down there that says, 'All right, you won the Bellator title but you never won the UFC title.' I've thought about that. I've never had the opportunity, and yes, a lot of it is my fault... but I never got that opportunity.
I believe the UFC was sold based on their performance and the services they've provided, so if a company comes in and buys it, they just bought the blueprints of their success. I believe that WME-IMG bought the UFC because of its structure and success.
There are certain things that I always dreamed of, like fighting in the UFC. There's just certain things that I feel like haven't been accomplished there. There's such great women coming up in the sport; seems like a wonderful time to be in women's MMA.
I remember coming across some DVDs of the UFC and so I started watching that and became a fan of it. It was a little boring because of all the grabbing and holding and I fast-forwarded through a lot of it, but I still watched because I like martial arts.
I felt like I was cheated out of my career in the UFC. In my mind and in my heart, I never lost to a foe. I never lost to an opponent. I lost to diverticulitis. That was my opponent that beat me. A lot of other people might have other thoughts about that.
I don't know anything about CM Punk. I'd never even heard of him until he was mentioned in UFC. I wouldn't know him if I walked past him in the street, I don't know... he might be a good wrestler but there are people in the UFC who are just good wrestlers.
'Fight Master' is a proving ground for young, aspiring fighters who want a chance to play on a bigger stage. That's something it has in common with 'The Ultimate Fighter,' which has always been like a farm league for the UFC, a place to develop new talent.
I started doing martial arts since I was 12, and then I went into wrestling in college. After I met John Hackleman, I started getting really serious about it, and after a few amateur fights, I got an invite to the UFC and have been in love with it ever since.
The UFC are doing a tremendous job of promoting the sport worldwide. The views about the sport haven't always been so positive here in the Holland, but it's nice to see change and to see the UFC come to Holland, and everyone been really enthusiastic about it.
When I couldn't sign with the UFC, I think my goal of being Number 1 in the world went out the window. There's just no way of doing that at Welterweight without being in the UFC. I could go 50-0, and as long as it's outside the UFC, I'm not going to be Number 1.
If I could have had everything exactly the way I wanted, this is how I would have written it down. Win all my fights in the first round, then go to the UFC and headline a show, and have it as a pay-per-view and at home. People's dreams don't come true like that.
UFC is UFC, and God bless them, they have the largest roster and some amazing fighters, but there's amazing fighters everywhere. That's why I am impressed with what Bellator has attempted to do with the tournament or with Aaron Pico and some of the younger talent.
I did my part. I signed it for UFC 205 in New York. I signed my part, and Julianna turned it down. She didn't want to fight that time, but I don't care about this because I am a fighter, and if she don't want fight, we was looking for another opponent to make fight.
I believe the UFC knows what they're watching and looking for, so I always try and put on a great show for everybody watching and try to go out there and finish my opponent and do something exciting. I believe a lot of people come out to watch me and see me perform.
Every single woman that fights MMA has done just as much work as Ronda has; we just haven't gotten as much turnaround. Those women who came before her haven't been on magazine covers. They weren't plastered everywhere by the UFC. They didn't get the same reward back.
I've been blessed; I've been getting so many amazing opportunities because of the UFC. I know there are going to be haters no matter how successful I am, and I just have to be thankful for all the blessings that I have because all of it can be over before you know it.
I was brought into the life of one Bas Rutten in 2001 at a grappling tournament that I was attending to support a friend of mine. I had never met Bas before but, of course, knew who he was: the King of Pancrase, UFC Heavyweight champion, and the commentator with Pride.
I know success; I've done it, but success is not what everyone thinks it is. It's only a tool and a platform for a greater message. That's where my nickname 'The Messenger' comes from. The UFC and a world title are a platform for something greater. For a bigger purpose.
Don't get me wrong - I love going to academy every day and training as hard as I can; I love to learn. But I have other plans. When you are in the UFC, you gotta save 80 percent of your time for that. I want to do other nice stuff, other things that give me pleasure also.
I wanted to develop a hypnosis show that no-one had ever seen before, so I made it very topical and interesting. I've created a UFC fight night every night on stage, where I hypnotise twenty people into thinking they're mad, crazed UFC fans, and the energy is unbelievable.
'Dancing with the Stars' was a really great experience. People were definitely surprised that I'm a fighter, or they couldn't believe I'm a professional fighter, but I feel like I'm going to get that for a while. I'm excited to bring a new demographic over to MMA and the UFC.
The Latino people in the U.S. and the Mexicans in Mexico need a UFC champion. We have a rich tradition in boxing, and to not have a Mexican heavyweight champion is unheard of. We need it. I'm glad I'm able to be in a position to give them that champion they so desperately want.
What happened to the men's boxing is happening to the women's boxing, but not all the time. Every now and then, you get some really great fights. It's a money thing and how many people are going to buy that pay-per-view for the fights. The UFC is eventually going to go that way.
Financially, I've done very well doing what I do. I've got plenty of money in the bank. I've got gigs with FOX doing analyst work, media work. The UFC has been very kind to me. Ultimately, however, I want to be world champion. I have to achieve that to validate my entire career.
Look at my track record for showing up to fights. Look at my track record of finishing fights. Look at my track record of getting fight night bonuses. Ask yourself if you think that if the UFC decided to truly put marketing dollars behind me that they couldn't sell me or my fights.
I knew that the UFC and that mixed martial arts in general was going to prosper because I was extremely selfish and cocky, and I thought: 'Hey, if I like it, everyone's gonna like it.' Well, it came to fruition, and I chose a character that was not a far departure from myself at all.
My second fight at UFC 1, I fought Ken Shamrock. In the fight I choked him. As soon as he tapped, I let go. He tried to continue, but the ref got kind of stuck like, 'should I let it go or stop the fight.' That's when I looked at the ref and I said, let it go, we're going to continue.
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.
When I sat down and knew I was going to go to the UFC, I thought of Edson Barboza and I almost had a panic attack. And then right away I called my manager Ali Abdel-Aziz. I said, 'Ali, that's the fight I want.' I think it's the worst fight in the lightweight division for me, the scariest.
Any UFC fighter, and any fighter going into the boxing ring and can do what they do in the UFC, nine out of 10 won't be victorious and vice-versa, with a boxer coming from - even myself - coming over to that field will be a fish trying to be in a jungle and survive. It's not going to happen.
You always have to play it safe, no matter who you're fighting. I don't fight any easy guys. I haven't maybe ever in the UFC. To me, you've always got to be safe. But I don't want to have my foot on the brake at all. My foot is going to be on the gas, and I'm going to be smart at everything.
Do you think the UFC is going to owe you a favor when you step up on short notice when nobody else is doing it? There's a reason a whole bunch of us aren't doing it. If you want to be that scapegoat, and think that the UFC's going to owe you one, good luck with that. Let me know how that goes.
As wrestlers, we're not trying to hurt or damage physically our opponent. All we're trying to do is score points and get our hands raised, so I think that's where we differ from the UFC, but I think that also the way in which we could address each other could be cool from a competitive spirit.
There's something about somebody who does something special in the UFC that they're allotted certain freedoms and wiggle room around the rules. I'm just not in that category. So if I want to fight Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz or Nate Diaz, then it's all the hooplah and all the talk about it.
I'm too busy with entertainment to think about anything else. No one knows this sport better than I do. I've been a fan of this sport since UFC 1 in Denver. I've followed this sport, I've been obsessed with this sport, I've trained with the best of the best, and I've fought the best of the best.
In my background in sports, I am huge believer in statistics and I think that's one area where in wrestling we've seen some cool stuff get over. To me, I think there's real opportunities to do some interesting things just in terms of building up athletes the way UFC has as legitimate competition.
I was satisfied with having a couple of fights a year, to enjoy them and have them be part of my training routine. When the UFC came around, it seemed like it fell in my lap. It was like I got so good at my hobby, and now I'm living all these people's dreams who had been working for so many years.
When I went to college, I came across MMA. My first reaction was, 'No, I don't want to fight. I just want to learn jujitsu.' I didn't know what UFC was; in my mind it was this violent, ugly sport. But when I watched my first amateur fight, I fell in love with the sport and thought it was beautiful.
Gray Maynard? Kenny Florian? All these guys, they're UFC fighters, that's all. They're pushed by the UFC, but when they leave the UFC, they're forgotten. When's the last time you heard Josh Neer's name? You haven't. When's the last time you heard about Roger Hurerta? You haven't. They're no ones anymore.
I think a lot of people miss what I've done in the MMA world. How I was able to market and control the industry so that people wanted to watch my fights. If you look at the fights I've been involved in - in the SEG UFC, in Japan, for Zuffa and today, they have been fights that have turned companies around.
One of the things in marriage is you have to understand what appreciation is about, and that'll keep me for longevity. That's why my fans love me, because I appreciate them. Because with no fans, there would be no sport, no fighting for me, no UFC, no Bellator, no Rizin; there'd be nothing without the fans.
I feel for the guys in UFC who helped open the UFC up. Obviously, I'm getting blackballed there by the UFC, so I'm kind of feeling on both sides. If a promotion or somebody in that promotion decides they don't like an individual, then they get to make up the rules, and the fans don't get a say in it at all.
I trained in martial arts and wanted to become a UFC fighter. That was my goal. I only really learned how to dance three weeks prior to making 'Step Up Revolution.' Dancing will always be fun, but MMA is something I'll never give up. I will eventually get back in the octagon and be fighting professionally again.
Conor McGregor has a beard because of me, because I'm the one who allowed it. If it wasn't for me, none of these guys would have a beard. The same thing with the belly. Fighters who don't look like bodybuilders wouldn't be in the UFC if it wasn't for me. There's a lot of things I've definitely paved the road for.