I love to study people, and that's basically what sociology is.
Kamaru Usman
When it comes down to digging, can't nobody dig as hard as I can dig.
There's a blessing in everything that happens to us.
I am what I am. I don't regret anything.
Anybody in that welterweight division that think they want this, you know you don't, because I'm a problem. I'm a problem in this division.
I fractured my left foot.
At the end of the day, my job is to win in impressive fashion.
My thing is, if you're going to talk online, if you're going to come at me with a certain energy, when you see me on-site, keep that certain energy. That's it. That's it. That's all I am.
There comes a time in our careers that you get that one guy. That guy that just makes your blood boil. That really pulls the savage out of you.
You can't out-wrestle me. You can't out-strike me. You don't have more power than me.
Can't nobody handle me.
You can't say that I don't have the skills. You can't say that. I have the skills.
I believe that I'm not just a fighter in this game; I love to study the sport. And in studying the sport, I believe I have a good eye for the sport, and I'm able to talk about the sport.
Once you have an opponent in your mind that you're preparing for, you're working on specifics, and you get guys in to mimic what they do.
Can anyone tell me what Jon Jones was ranked when he fought for the UFC title? No one knows. I believe, in that aspect, it was easier to get fights back then. It wasn't, 'What's this guy ranked?' You fought, made your money, and went home.
In other countries, being from somewhere else is celebrated. But not in America.
Fighting is just something that's gonna open doors for things to come in the future.
I'd like to think I'm a hybrid to where, if you had to pick, where would you say I'm weak? I can outwrestle guys; I can outgrapple guys. I can put your lights out, and I have a gas tank for days. I can do it all.
I think it's great to have USADA come in and clean up the sport, because what I don't want to do is train my butt off for 10 weeks to prepare for a fight for a limited amount of money to feed my family, then get out there with a guy that maybe put in 3 weeks training and cheated.
That's why I think that I have a big advantage, because I work on my striking a ton, but I don't forget about my wrestling, what brought me to the dance.
I'm a good, upstanding guy with moral values and core values.
They say the body is 70 percent water, and you need that water for a reason.
I got into this sport to make a statement.
I'm not just a grappler.
For what we do training, as a fighter, you have to be able to flip that switch where you turn into that savage, that guy that's prepared to go to war.
Wrestling definitely shaped the direction of my life because, before that, I wanted to fit in so much. I wanted to be one of the cool cats. I was friends with the captain of the football team because he had all the chicks. I wanted to be that guy.
One of the hardest parts of this game, and what I don't think people understand, is the mental side of it. They think, 'Oh, he's a big, stronger guy.' But let me tell you, and I believe this without question: It's not always the biggest, strongest, meanest, toughest-looking who gets the job done.
You can't say I don't have the confidence, because I have that.
Crazy things happen in this sport, and you have to be ready. And for me, luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
Nothing but respect for Demian Maia.
There was a time when guys just had a specialty, like boxer or wrestler or jiujitsu guy. Then came guys who could blend taking you down with also being able to kick your head off.
Once Africans realise we can just fight and get paid for it, we can do that and still provide for ourselves and our families and countries? We're going to flood the market.
I believe in fate.
It's my job to show up, make weight, and prepare to be a world champion if that opportunity presents itself.
We didn't have running water. We had to get water from wells, and there was a stint where I lived with my grandma where we had to get water, bring it over to the house. You had to boil the water because you never knew what parasites were in the water.
I recall the hard work that my family went through just to continue to live the lifestyle that we were living, which wasn't by any means a great lifestyle.
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.
I always envisioned hearing them say, 'and new,' and wrapping that belt around me and thinking of all the things I was fighting for.
I want Dong Hyun Kim. He's a grappler, he's a strong stand-up fighter, and I think that would be a great fight. I think I beat him every and anywhere.
I'm not the ugliest guy in the world.
I believe that, just naturally, I'm a very soft-spoken person. Everyone tells me that on a daily basis - 'Speak up, we can't hear you,' or 'Elaborate on this.' But that's just how I am.
I can't fight forever. Commentating is one of those major things that I definitely feel I want to do and can do.
The fight game has changed to where it's no longer the toughest is fighting the toughest to be the best on the planet.
Fighters no longer manage themselves: they have a whole team behind them. A fighter has a manager, an agent, a Hollywood agent - they got this and that. And on top of that, they've got their whole team of coaches.
I'm a people watcher, and I love to listen.
I would love to fight a lot more often, but of course it's the UFC, and whenever they feel that they have an opening, then they can put us in there because there's so many fighters.
When you're doing something like wrestling - wrestling is one of the toughest and hardest martial arts to learn - but it's still a form of martial arts. It's still controlled.
USADA is wonderful, I think they're doing a remarkable job, and they do a remarkable job all around the world.
At the end of the day, I'm a professional.
One thing about me is that my parents didn't force me to be an athlete.
