God has always opened up doors at the right time. He's closed doors at the right time.
Michael Chandler
On my way to winning the title, it was great for me, but once I won the title, it was tough for me to get fights.
I'm a force to be reckoned with.
No matter where I've been or where I go, a piece of Missouri is always with me because this is where I'm from and where I grew up.
If I had the opportunity to fight Khabib, or anyone ranked No. 1 - I've played that in my head a million times.
I train my butt off every single day.
Life is too short and too sweet to complain about the silly things.
Derek Campos is really tough.
Brandon Girtz is a tough man who can really throw the leather, but I'm on a different level.
I do have some unfinished business with Josh Thomson. I think that's a fight fans want to see, it's a fight Bellator wants, it's a fight I want.
It's OK to have a little bit of pride in yourself.
There's still times I wish I could throw on the black and gold singlet and go out there in the Hearnes Center and wrestle for the Missouri Tigers. I miss that and I miss the stuff about college wrestling.
I actually have a tattoo on the left side of my chest that says 'Blessed.' It represents how blessed I've been in my life and how thankful I am for all that I have.
I just try to keep the main thing the main thing: getting my butt in the gym.
At first I thought, beer's nasty. Then I found IPAs. They're delicious.
I love collegiate wrestling but the thought of training for international stuff just didn't really appeal to me.
Letting emotion get into it isn't part of my game. Letting animosity or a rivalry come into it, that's all for the show.
I knew I wanted to fight. It's a great way to continue competing and not to mention actually make money. You can make a career out of it.
Henri Hooft has made my hands and feet deadly weapons.
There are always a ton of different people to learn from and people that are pushing me to get better.
I want to build a brand that inspires as many people as I possibly can.
I eat about every three to four hours.
I built my name on fighting so hard - I'll always do that - but I'm also trying to become more of a veteran, to be be calm and calculated and not always trying to bowl people over.
Finishing a guy like Benson Henderson, who hasn't been finished since for six years, the guy doesn't get finished and I finished it with a switch-step switch to Southpaw, knocked him out with my left hand.
I've taken fights on short notice while injured to help save shows, and in return I've been taken care of.
I'm going to stash up my cash and invest in real estate. I want to be set up for the end of fighting.
I had so much growing up and I'm so thankful for all the people who invested in my life.
Benson Henderson is a guy that I fought before. He has two arms and two legs. He has certain patterns, mannerisms and tendencies that I know I can go out there and exploit.
If I could do this until I was 60, I would. This is a great life. All I do is train, all I do is work out, and prolong my life by the training that I'm doing, the things I have to do as professional athlete.
Not since 2011, when I stepped into the cage and fought Eddie Alvarez for the first time and was the extreme underdog - I've never quite had that feeling of a 10 since then.
It is not that hard to go out there and put on the performance of your life and beat any guy in the lightweight division on any given night.
I'm just getting better every single day and I want to be the best in the world.
For me, getting up is an inside job, but it has been hard stepping in the cage with guys who I've had to lose against and not a lot to gain.
Obviously, beating Alvarez was the first step to getting my name out there. Now people now know who I am and see, at least in some part, that I'm the real deal.
For as long as I can remember, our family has been huge Cardinals fans. My grandpa is a personal friend of Whitey Herzog's; they were neighbors for decades. Our love and support of the Cardinals definitely runs deep.
I don't want to just be a great fighter, but also a great man.
Life throws you curveballs and there are things that happen - you don't understand why they happened at the time. But then you step back and understand you're a better fighter and competitor because of the things that happened.
Bellator has taken care of me, and I've taken care of them. It's been the perfect storm of a symbiotic relationship - them having an asset they were not willing to lose, and me being in a situation where the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
I look after two people - my wife and my son.
Bellator wouldn't be who they are without my performances and Michael Chandler wouldn't be who he is without Bellator promoting him and us having a phenomenal symbiotic relationship.
I'm trying to be the best lightweight fighter in the world. That's my main objective. I just have to keep my head up, keep training and enjoy this awesome ride that I'm on.
I love Scott Coker and I love Bellator and I love what we have built together and it's a little uneasy to think that I will no longer be under contract with Bellator after I knock out Benson Henderson and get my hand raised.
I didn't have to fight. I chose to fight. I believe God put me on this Earth to be able to do this and do it at a high level.
The greatest thing about fighting a guy like Dave Rickels: He always comes to fight.
Everyone who has kids that you talk to tells you, 'Wait until you have kids. It's going to change you.' You're like, 'Nah, come on. How can it change you that much?' But it changes you so much.
I've had a phenomenal life. I have a phenomenal God that I serve. I have a phenomenal wife.
When you're wrestling, it's such an amazing sport. I love it. I loved that I came from that background.
You see it from my area, from any area, really, so many who want to be great and have the drive, but don't have the resources. I'm very blessed that I have a family that was financially stable enough to get me to tournaments and camps and to practices so I could wrestle year-round.
I'm not who I am without the organization of Bellator.
When people talk about the lightweight division they will probably mention my name a little bit. Whether they believe I don't deserve to be up there or I do, they are at least going to mention me.
