I'm trying to stay focused on what I'm doing. I don't want a whole lot of things going on - people to call back, or text messages or whatever. I chill out, relax a little bit, and then I don't have those issues.
Nate Diaz
I don't come and fight for fun. I don't do that. I don't like to hurt people for fun.
I try to cancel out every possibility of losing the fight, and this runs through my head all day long. I'm seeing myself become smashed in the face, cut, or being submitted or being knocked out in so many different ways all day long.
If anybody's getting a shot, somebody's getting a shot against me because I'm the guy to beat.
People like to talk a lot about me, about how I have anxiety or social disorders. I'll admit to anxiety, but it has nothing to do with media or being in front of a camera or being around people. It has to do with dealing with the sparring that I'm going to have or the workouts that I'm going to have from day to day.
I'm the only person in this sport, for the most part, that ain't on steroids. Now there's new rules in effect, yeah, you've got guys not on steroids now, but they used to be. They've always been on steroids.
I never did steroids in my life. I know all the fighters; they are all on steroids.
Once I turned pro, I was like,' OK, this is not fun and games now. This is me. I'm going to come, and I work on karma. I'm not going to go after somebody if I don't have a reason behind it, so as soon as there is some sort of a reason for me to do something that I need to do, then I'll do it.'
I want to fight the best guy. I always want to fight the best guy.
There was a rumor I was walking around at 183 pounds. When I left my room to fight Conor McGregor, I was 179 pounds. That means by the time I walked in the cage, I was probably 175, 174 pounds.
I'm fighting hard; I'm training hard. I'm still walking over people and stepping over people to get where I'm going, and I would really like to give back, especially to my mom, who was there for me when I was a kid.
I always took a fight; I always took everybody. I fought everybody.
Whoever has lost a fight in the UFC and hasn't wanted to fight that guy the next day shouldn't be in the sport.
I can always do five, five-minute rounds, any day, even if I was drinking yesterday or doing whatever. I'm a seasoned athlete, an endurance athlete, and I'm always working out.
You know when I fight, I'm going to sell out the show. Everyone wants to see someone get knocked out or tapped out.
Money talks. I want the biggest fight. Whoever I've got to fight - the biggest show, biggest payday - that's what I want.
I don't like not having a job. Especially when I started Mixed Martial Arts, this was all I could do.
I don't love to fight; I don't want to fight.
If you don't find time to meditate and get all that negative out, and if you don't have the right people being positive around you, this is a very scary job to have if you don't learn how to control your fear.
I don't see a superstar out there. I don't see Georges St-Pierre coming back.
Every fight, I'm fighting blind opponents. I don't know who it's going to be, who I'm fighting, if I'm really fighting them.
I've lost fights before where I'm landing more punches and I'm moving away from the guy. So, the way that they score things at the end doesn't seem very consistent to me.
I walk around - people know who I am. I've got friends. I can make ends meet. I grew up around people who have been hustling from the start, so I think I've got a bright little future ahead of me - especially if I don't fight. Why would I want to go out there and fight with somebody, get my face punched and kicked. It's not my idea of a good time.
If I had been thinking business since I was 21, I'd be a rich man right now.
It's just kinda irritating to me that we're awarding people in mixed martial arts for trying to move away and not finish the fight.
It cost me a lot of money to have a vacation, basically. It's nice to step back and see there's more to life.
I win by submissions, knockouts. There's guys ranked above me, but no one's interested in seeing them fight. They want to see me fight.
I'm not sure what the UFC's agenda is when it comes to me. It's their show, their press. They can change to whatever they want to do at any point. They own this thing. They can do whatever they want.
People don't understand: I've had 37 fights, three to five fights every year, for 17 years. That does something to somebody. These suspensions are the only vacations I've ever had.
Me calling out Roy Jones is disrespectful.
My parents moved around Stockton and Lodi. I had a lot of anxiety about jumping into another classroom. They were always putting me in special ed. But I was smart; I wasn't like these kids in the special-ed classes. But it would make me feel a little bit stupid.
I'm scared of any fighter I've ever fought because they are some dangerous people to be dealing with. That's also where the anxiety comes from.
I want to go against the best fighters. That's why I'm always calling out Georges St-Pierre. I don't have anything against Georges St-Pierre. I think he's a great fighter.
I need a vacation anyway. They fight me too much. I'm not going to be the one to back out of these fights.
