Me, my heart and my soul will always be a fighter. I'm not comfortable with saying, 'I'm done. I quit. I give up.' That's the way I am, and that's the way I always will be. From the day I was born to the day I die, I am a fighter!
Don't let people make you afraid of taking chances in life. And if you fail, it's no big deal. Get back up and fight through it and be successful again. If you did it once, you can do it again.
If you stay in the guard and control the hips and flatten him out, you can control him. And that was the start of ground-and-pound.
You can't tell me to stop being me. As long as there's something out there for me, or somebody offers me something that's reasonable, people that I want to fight, not just anybody, it's gotta make sense... but as long as those fights come around, I will continue to keep being me.
I've been very fortunate to be at the startup of a lot of different things. I was the startup of the Pancrase organization in Japan. Became a big figure over there. Then I was in the UFC and was at the startup of that, and I was a big figure in that. Twice. Not only in the beginning but also when it was taken over.
I would have to say probably some of my favorite highlights in the ring would have to be with The Rock. Because at that time, me and him were number one guys, both of us on the rise, and just the matches we had were good times.
I learned a long time ago that you need to bury the hatchet. No need to hold grudges. That only weighs you down.
In MMA, I believe that when a fighter knocks someone down, you have to finish him. It's not boxing, where you have a ten count; you have to finish him.
When I'm fighting, it's not only going to be for the fans. It's going to be for God.
My whole thing was getting in there with these guys and really pushing their limits. Testing their toughness and their desire.
Bellator offered me a job. UFC never offered me an opportunity to fight. There's no question that UFC is the top. It's a machine. A lot of people, including myself, have helped build the UFC to where it is today.
No matter how tough you are or how much willpower or determination you have, if there's something wrong with your body, it's going to shut down and stop. It's good to have those qualities, but it's important to know what you're pushing against.
WWE is something I'm looking at. Definitely have been throwing little feelers out there to get an opportunity. Because I have achieved everything that I have set out to do in every organization except the WWE. I didn't get the world title. I got everything else but that.
The fans are most important... when it comes to the entertainment industry. They are the ones that matter most, and they should be heard.
People love to be entertained and love the different storylines that go on in pro wrestling.
How you find out who somebody is, whether or not they are a true warrior, a true competitor all the way through... is people that don't know how to walk away or say, 'I'm retired.' Those are the ones that are purebred warriors. They don't know anything else.
There's no question in my mind that the times I was in my prime, I was the most well-rounded fighter out there - or in the world. I was the one who knew how to kickbox. I did kickbox and muay thai, I competed in events in Japan, and I was a submission specialist. Going into the UFC for the first time, I was the most well-rounded fighter there.
Promoters do bigger numbers when Ken Shamrock's name is on the card.
I captured Tag Team, Intercontinental, Rookie Of The Year, King Of The Ring, everything but the heavyweight title. I would hope that, somewhere down the road all the differences would be put aside and allow me to come back and at least get a shot at the heavyweight title, and I hope Brock Lesnar has it, cause I'd like to come after him.
I will tell you what, the Rock was my nemesis. We did enough for each other; we put each other over to be famous. If we didn't have that feud with each other, we wouldn't have had the success we both had in pro wrestling. We really did build each other. I'm very thankful we had those opportunities and those matches.
