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.
B. J. Penn
Tsunamis are always big news around Hilo, grew up always getting ready to escape a tsunami.
As life goes on, life just gets harder.
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 thought I would go win 100 in a row with 100 knockouts.
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.
It doesn't do me any good to train for three months, and I don't get to fight.
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.
I have my own morals I live by.
Being the champ is fake, all of that is all fake.
I want to leave a mark in this sport.
When I first started fighting, I thought I was God's gift to fighting.
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.
That's the mark of a man, just keeping your head up, right? Not taking the easy way out.
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'm not a great athlete that can play any sport. But one thing I could always do is... fight back.
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.
I definitely like the rubber guard. I always try to use it, especially when I'm just grappling or at the gym.
The UFC is martial arts and it's all about technique.
I always have fighting inside my head and heart.
Fighting is still a fight for me. It always has been.
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 miss a three-month training camp. I don't miss fight week. But I do miss being the baddest man on the planet.
Honestly, I don't have any special techniques for Sean Sherk.
Back when we won the 170-pound title, I knew we were going to go back and get the 155-pound title but the 145-pound title wasn't even a thought in the mind. We would have had that title already if it was around.
Maybe the word they should use instead of Motivated Penn is Prepared Penn.
Maybe if I had made the move in my early 20s it would have been different. But I did not feel good at 145.
Keith Kizer doesn't want to look anyone in the eye.
I just love the fighting.
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.
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.
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.
I guess growing up, it was pretty much a normal life, as I got older I used to get into some fights but nothing unusual.
The training camps are tough, going through that.
I don't want to just be, 'Oh, he was good back in the day.' I want to be known as one of the best.
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.
I look for ways to try to build the sport, ways to put more fans in the seats and more money in our pockets.
I think I should stay retired.
I never even thought I would be in the UFC.
I got a wonderful life back in Hawaii.
Jiu-jitsu is created where the small man can beat the big man.
Anybody they ever offer me in fighting, I'll probably never be surprised, unless it's the guy's first fight in the UFC.
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.
I want everyone to know that I always gave it the best shot I had, whether it went that way my night.
Fighting is my whole life, the UFC is my whole life.
I'm not just a guy that will walk in the ring and somebody's going to walk across and crush me.
I'm a purist, and I'm more a fighter than an athlete.
I guess being a competitor, you always have that itch. But what it is is... it's tough.
I'm sure there are people in all sports that bend the rules but I'm not going to sit here and point the finger.
Jon Fitch is a great opponent, a tough opponent, but St. Pierre brings the whole backing of Canada with him to a fight.
