I win and lose in one way. And that's either putting them to sleep or putting it on the line and going to sleep.
Justin Gaethje
I am a Division I All-American wrestler, but I wrestled college wrestling matches, seven minutes long. If I was to go in there and wrestle for seven minutes of a fight, a 25-minute fight, you're not getting nothing out of me for the rest of the time.
I went to college, I wrestled and I took some amateur fights. When I graduated, I wanted to start using my degree, but I figured I would start fighting professionally. Then I won 18 in a row and I fought Eddie Alvarez on pay-per-view.
I'm trying to be as real as I can and I'm being myself. I'm not gonna create an act.
I have a human services bachelors degree and I want to work social work, I want to work with at-risk youth.
There's not a lot of people that can sit there and take the punishment that I can deliver.
I wrestled Jordan Burroughs two times - Jordan Burroughs had a hell of a time trying to take me down. I stopped his double leg numerous times. And he also, probably, fractured my sternum - from me trying to stop him.
I don't want to fight guys ranked behind me.
Working in a juvenile detention center, being a probation officer for at-risk youths, I'll do something like that. Something nice and stable.
Humans recognize effort, and that's what I do. I give max effort.
I'm not an idiot.
I just like punching loudmouths in the face.
I'll worry about things I can control.
A lot of people say I'm reckless and I take too many shots. I take shots on the forehead. There's nothing wrong with that. It puts me in punching range.
I happen to have a college education and I never planned on being a fighter.
You could be the best in the world, but it doesn't matter. It's four-ounce gloves. I've been dropped in practice with a knee to the body. I take a good knee to the body and break my ribs in the fight, I lost. I mean, it's a fight.
I wish I was fighting Jason High in his hometown. I would put him to sleep in front of all his fans. He's mainly a wrestler, but I'm an All-American wrestler. So I'm really not worried about Jason High.
This is a making-money business, and the only way to make money is knocking people out. Lying on someone? That's pathetic to me. You gotta drop a bomb.
Me and my brother, as anybody who's a twin will tell you... it's a competitive relationship. Ours is really competitive.
My pressure is second to none and my timing and attitude are second to none, and that's what I want to be recognized for; not for being undefeated, because what does that mean? That just means you won. And I want to known for my style and the way that I fight, the timing that I bring and the fact that I rely on my reactions, stuff like that.
I'm not here to take damage. I don't want to not be able to talk. Every single time I fight, I know that... this could be the last time that you're able to do this, the last time you're able to talk.
I'm hoping to earn enough to buy a few properties, that way I can make money that way and I want to do social work.
At the end of the day, it's an unforgiving sport.
Whoever they send me a contract for, I'll fight him.
In hindsight, I'd love to be undefeated still, but that's not what this sport is.
I've never been in a street fight before, like one-on-one.
When I take a right hand, I roll with it. I don't absorb every single bit of the punch. There's different ways to alleviate some of the force of a punch besides just getting out of the way. When I take it, it's on my gloves.
You have to learn how to fight through when it sucks and it's really hard.
I want the biggest fights possible.
When I lose, I'll get knocked out. It won't be because I got outworked or outskilled or anything like that.
I'm trying to live until I'm at least 65 or 70, so I might as well try and stay healthy until at least that long.
I could lose and it could be the best fight ever, it still does great things for me.
It's life or death for me every single time I step in the cage.
This is entertainment business and I fight for money.
I get paid by the fight, not by the minute.
The way you stop a takedown in wrestling is to meet force with force. You don't try to go away.
My only goal ever in a fight was to go in there and create chaos. Now, I want to control the chaos that hate's created. I want to fight in the right spots.
God, it's such an unforgiving sport.
I'm not larger than life, my personality is not larger than life, I promise you. But when I fight I am larger than life, I promise you that.
I want to fight Khabib. I think I'm one of the biggest threats to his title.
What I do is not for the faint of heart, but I'm a different breed.
Melvin Guillard went to a split decision with me, he left the third round in a wheelchair. He did not walk to the back - he left in a wheelchair.
I wanted to take the short road to the top, and I think I'm doing that.
I've been saying I'm the best in the world for a long time.
I should never be trying to avoid something in a fight, especially something I'm good at.
My timing and pressure is the definition of MMA.
You will regret not seeing me fight live.
I owe it to myself to not sell myself short by taking a pay cut just to go to another organization.
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.
When you win, you get to pick someone in front of you to fight.
