I keep training hard, keep working out, keep looking at my fights, and I wonder, 'If I was to fight me, how would I beat me?' It's like having a boat with a bunch of holes. I'm trying to patch up all the holes. If I was to fight myself, I'd take advantage of certain things. I've got to know my opponent is thinking the same thing.
Brian Ortega
I very strongly dislike fear. I always say fear keeps us from living our lives and doing the things we want to do.
I'm not the perfect person, but I have the perfect heart, I feel, when it comes to helping people.
I love being the underdog. I'm cool in my dog house.
Fighting is great, but I can't do it forever.
Not too many people present a good ground game from the bottom. They survive a little bit, and it's kind of boring. But not too many people are attacking from the bottom, hurting with elbows. They don't bring that kind of game because it takes a long time to develop.
It's a little weird: you're headlining a show on TV, and obviously, people like to associate that with material things. I drive a - what is it - 1999 Chevy Blazer. There's no more cushion on the driver's seat, and the tires are about gone.
I was sitting around, moping and feeling badly for myself. I went to the hospital to visit a child, and it hit me: helping people is what I'm meant to do.
Sometimes when you get eager, you get sloppy. Sometimes when you get sloppy, you get knocked out.
I knew what I wanted to do with my life: I wanted to fight.
I believe we all have a responsibility to try to help other people in this world. To me, my ability to help and to do good for others will only increase if I'm more known and get to that really super elite level. That would be the huge benefit for me. It would put me in a position where I could just help more people.
I dropped out or got kicked out of four high schools.
I've proven I can hang in there, go through adversity, and pull tricks out of the bag.
When I get in there, I try to really make sure there's no quit in me and that whoever I fight is going to have a long night.
I want to help make the world a better place.
I got to share the Octagon with Clay Guida. I got to share the Octagon with Cub Swanson. Now I'm going to share the Octagon with Frankie Edgar. These are things that, as a fighter, you always dream of.
The weight of the world on my shoulders was something that I had to let go.
I'm the kind of guy who, if you tell me you can't do something, like, 'Brian, you can't do a backflip off that two-floor building,' and I'm going to give it a shot.
A lot of people have these fancy facilities, these fancy training atmospheres, high-tech this and that... I believe it's about the fighter and how much work is he willing to put. I'm trying to show the world that I can make it happen from a garage. People don't believe it, but I know how to work with what I've got to get to the top.
To bring out the best in someone, you really have to push them.
When I go in the Octagon, it's no big deal. Just gonna go fight. Majority of the people? 'Dude, I'm scared to even walk through there.' Everything's a matter of perspective.
I've always wanted better for myself; I just didn't know what route I was going to take.
I can take care of myself.
I love kids.
My fifth pro fight, I got my first title fight.
Fight fans always appreciate a fighter who is willing to step up on short notice.
A lot of people think they need the best training partners, the best gym. I started with Vans, Jack in the Box, and a dream, and now I'm here. You just need to have that work ethic, focus, and dedication.
That's always been my problem - the lack of fear in some situations.
I don't like getting comfortable.
Put on a camera and put on some whatever, and you're an actor. Put me in a cage, I'm a fighter. Put me somewhere else - I'm in an ocean, I'm a surfer. I don't know what I am, I just do it all. And I want to be good at everything.
I liked to pretend a lot. I thought I could be anything that I wanted.
Obviously it's great to train at home and not have to travel and stay in the same time zone. That's always great.
I don't look like a fighter. I like it, though, because it just allows me to be in the position I am now, to where I can venture out to wherever I want to go. I can go into acting. I can go into this; I can go different ways now. And because of fighting, I can do that.
There's a lot of times when I shouldn't have been here. I go, 'Man, I'm blessed.' I've had people shoot at me and had all kinds of stuff happen, and somehow I'm still here, and other people are not.
I wasn't really a beach boy. I was a city boy, afraid of the ocean.
Every time, you get hit in the face, you have to fight.
I don't want to spend all the money I've made and then have to hustle fight to fight.
I want to go out and help people and share love where love is needed.
Cub Swanson's a guy you either get through or you don't, and I fought him when he was on a nice winning streak.
I always have my group of friends at the gym. We used to go hang out somewhere before. Now we're just hanging out at the gym. We have sparring parties where everyone beats each other up, but then we all eat my dad's cooking, and I hire a massage therapist, so everyone is just kicking back and having a good time. I just keep the environment great.
I have my parents to keep me in check, a team that loves me, and I have the ability to go out there, dream, and chase it.
I've been in so many street fights.
There's little windows that open up during the fight, to finish your opponent. Whenever those windows open, I'm jumping right through them without hesitation.
I want to secure my name. I'll fight who I have to fight for the belt.
What's that song? It says, 'Everything that you do will come back to you in your sweet time?' That's why I still don't relax. Even my coach gets mad at me sometimes. He's like, 'Come on, man - relax.' I go, 'Nah.' I'm always good.
Nobody expected me to finish Cub Swanson the way I did. When you see something like that, even I say, 'You're finally here. You're not only hanging with the best of the best, you're finishing them.'
It's never been about an opponent. I don't care who it is. Just throw them in front of me and let me do what I have to do. Let me earn the belt.
When I go in to fight week, I go, 'Maybe I'm going to be that guy on the highlight reel that gets knocked out.' I'm always thinking, 'How am I going to react? Am I going to be a sore loser?' I'm almost checking myself in case something bad happens.
For me, I love doing what is said can't be done.
I'll do things that a lot of people think is very risky.
