Who am I to tell people what to do with their own careers and how they're doing?
I used to get so stressed out before the fight, weeks out, because of how much weight I had to cut to get there.
It's definitely been a progression, but I always knew I could be a great fighter. I could feel it inside of myself.
I have great striking, really great striking, and I hit very hard.
I have faith in my wrestling, faith in my grappling, and faith in my striking.
With the UFC, anything can happen, really.
I'm a very objective-driven bloke, so to have a goal in mind and to have something to do is very important to me.
Getting back to 100 per cent is one thing, but working at 100 per cent is something else entirely. And given one of my main goals has always been improving my skill set, to do that, I need to be working out at 100 per cent.
The UFC are my employers, so they have to come first.
No fighter wants to risk getting ring rust.
I'm very objective driven, so for me it's very important to know who I'm fighting, when I'm fighting, and roughly the direction I'm working in. It gives me that little extra push to do what I need to do to get the sessions, to work towards something.
Sometimes, it doesn't matter if you're the world champ or not.
Obviously wrestling is a core component of MMA. And among UFC fighters, my take-down defence is considered quite high.
I'm definitely driven to go as far as I can.
I don't pick and choose. I've never really had an qualms about who I fight next.
Michael Bisping versus Georges St-Pierre is a money fight, and the UFC loves money fights.
I don't have any ill will towards any of my opponents. I understand we are the highest calibre of athlete in this sport, and we will both go and give it our all. But I don't want anyone to misinterpret what I am saying: when we step into that octagon and we touch gloves, I am going to break his face.
People smarter than me told me that my potential was bigger than just winning a belt. Now I believe that, and that's what I'm striving for.
I see all my hard fights as title fights. Every time I go in there, I'm fighting for my life.
I want to be known as one of the best fighters ever. I don't just need a shiny medallion to tell me anything. I want to beat all the top-caliber dudes.
