I love to study people, and that's basically what sociology is.
There's a blessing in everything that happens to us.
When it comes down to digging, can't nobody dig as hard as I can dig.
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.
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.
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.
You can't say that I don't have the skills. You can't say that. I have the skills.
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.
At the end of the day, my job is to win in impressive fashion.
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.
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.
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.
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.
You can't say I don't have the confidence, because I have that.
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.
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.
I'm not just a grappler.
Nothing but respect for Demian Maia.
I fractured my left foot.
