That was my biggest dream, to one day become champion in MMA and boxing. That is my biggest dream.
Jose Aldo
We always train with heavier sparring partners to make it harder so the fight will be easier.
I dream of being champion and dream going out as champion. That's my biggest motivation.
McGregor has a good punch, but he cannot say that he's the biggest puncher. MMA gloves are tiny - four ounces - so when they connect, they drop you.
I want a superfight. That's my biggest wish. I want to test myself in different divisions.
Everyone should go up there and fight. Go up there and go through opponents and earn their opportunity to fight for the title, not talk their way into the title.
The UFC and WEC didn't give me anything. Everything I conquered was my merit and from my team.
I'm not scared of anyone. They have two arms and two legs, and I will do my best and win.
My father was a bricklayer, and my mother was a housewife. It was complicated, obviously, because of our humble origin, but thank God we were all focused.
I always want more. I will always want to earn more.
Nobody gave me anything. I conquered everything. And I gave them a lot more than they gave me back.
I'm the king of Dublin.
I've considered going to lightweight. As soon as my trainer decides that I can go up, then I will.
I want the undisputed belt.
I was a fan of jujitsu, so that pretty much got me started in fighting. I won a lot of local competitions when I was young and eventually won a ticket to go compete in Rio de Janeiro. In Rio, I struggled a lot in the beginning, living in the gym and not having much to eat, but eventually I joined the Nova Uniao Team and really improved my skills.
We came from a humble background but with a lot of love, so we were able to overcome that.
I never fought for money. I had a good career and legacy as featherweight champion.
I was always the champion and will always be as long as I'm in the featherweight division.
I think the legacy Ronda leaves behind is that she changed women's MMA.
When I started, athletes fought for honor, respect, philosophy.
We always try give the best of us in training to go in the cage and have a good performance, thus giving millions for the company. We also want to have part of these millions.
I was really close to my father since I was young. He always told me that I had to work in order to become a man, so I had to stay with him when my mother left. He always took me to work to help him as a bricklayer. I was just a kid, so I did what I could do to help him.
Some fighters have a great punch; others don't.
Portuguese is the language of my heart; it's the language of my feelings. It's the language that I feel I can express myself best in.
If a fighter thinks he knows everything and stops trying to evolve, he's lost.
If you lose, no one will remember you, but if you're the champion, they will always remember you.
I wanted to train jiu-jitsu instead of capoeira because the mat was soft. It was better than training capoeira on the hard floor. I started reading jiu-jitsu magazines, reading about the world champions, and becoming one of them became my goal.
My next fight is always the most important fight, so regardless if I'm fighting for the title or not, I always have to go in there and give everything that I've got.
Even parrots talk. I don't care about what they say.
As long as I fight for myself, I will stay champion.
Some people win 10, 15, and don't fight for the belt.
Something I always liked to train is kickboxing.
I train every day to destroy whoever they put in front of me.
The training is intense here at Nova Uniao.
I can fight Cain Velasquez if they want. It's not up to me, I'm not the matchmaker.
Each person has a way to promote their fight. Each person has a way to try to create opportunity in their career.
Thank God the UFC and MMA gave me a lot of stuff.
I've competed for so many years that I can go in there and have fun and do what I love, which is fight and compete.
The UFC makes 80, and athletes make 20. That's what happens. That's the real story.
I like to watch women's MMA more than men fighting because they always do their best and fight hard.
I clear my mind; I don't think about the pressure before a fight. I focus on going in the cage and being successful while doing my job.
Yes, I think about having a career in boxing, but I want to start from the bottom, start from zero. I want to get ranked and one day fight for a belt. I don't want to fight just to fight, for money, to go after big fights and challenge a great champion.
Nobody stays young forever.
I've been in many wars already.
Everybody knows if you have the rules, you need to follow the rules and do exactly what you need to do.
Every time I step in the Octagon, I always try to finish.
I've never had any fear in my entire career.
Every fight is a new fight.
Interim belt is made for media and fans, not for me.
I don't want to fight until I'm 40. I don't even know if I'll get to 35.
