Some fighters know when to stop on their own and go on to something else, and then some fighters have nothing to go back to after they are finished. Some fighters still have the burning fire and feel that they just need to try one more time. Few can do it.
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.
When good fighters fight, they often make predictions. It's all part of the media hype beforehand.
How much abuse is a fighter expected to endure before he can be allowed to show some concern for his own welfare? Anyone who has been around fighters knows they all share the same secret: They are more afraid of embarrassment and humiliation than injury. Do fans and writers use this fact against them in what we celebrate or criticize?
George Foreman is easier and has the bigger name and have you noticed that Foreman never calls me out or ever mentions my name? He is afraid of me like most fighters are and most people want to forget about Larry Holmes, like he never ever existed.
No one is the same after I fought them - Hearns, Duran, Leonard. All of them.
Mike Tyson notoriously looked for a way out against Evander Holyfield when it was clear Holyfield had his number. Suddenly, Tyson's cowardice in gnawing off Holyfield's ear overshadowed nearly everything he had accomplished as a fighter.
From the very beginning, every time I trained for a fight, I didn't train to beat the guy I was fighting. I trained to beat Anderson Silva.
Fighters are raised into MMA. It's more about what's internal, not what's God given. When you have a great fighter like Rickson Gracie or Fedor Emelianenko-they're greater than the others because they have an internal spiritual being that separates them from the rest in their craft. They have the warrior spirit.
I'm a very respectful fighter, I don't get out of character and start talking crazy, but if you don't want to fight a fighter, or you don't think it's a good style, or it's just not time, then say that.
I'm not really into researching my opponents or other fighters other than the ones that I like.
I want to thank Kotelnik for letting me have a shot at the title. I'm so confident I'm going to beat him. He thinks that me moving up a weight, I won't be as strong, but I'm very strong. I'm a hard-hitting fighter.
I'm the type of fighter who has never made an excuse. I fought with a broken rib, broken leg.
I understand everything Ronda Rousey is gonna bring that day. I don't think she's gonna be able to deal with my striking. She's gonna be really surprised when I touch her, when I connect on my punches.
I could definitely make 145. But if 'Cowboy' is going to 145, I'm going after somebody who matters.
I think some fighters, when they throw a punch and throw everything they have, and it doesn't affect the other person, it might crush them a bit.
It's hard to just go one day from another to being one of the best fighters in the world to just stop doing what you love to do.
I remember the first time I fought somebody with a name and that was Tito Ortiz. I didn't start fighting until like the second round because I was like, 'Oh my God, that's Tito Ortiz. That's Tito Ortiz from TV. Look how big his head is, damn.'
He was WBC champion, I was mandatory. He had his opportunity to earn big money and defend against me, and he chose not to. It's as simple as that. He did not want to fight 'The Cobra', cos he knew he was probably going to get one of these (his fists) on the chin and it was going to be all over.
Everybody talks. Anthony Pettis talked before the fight. Donald Cerrone talked before the fight. See what happened?
After about 25 fights you don't always have to keep going to the bathroom before the fight.
Dana White came out very often in public saying I'm this and that; I'm sure it's also to play with my ego, to make me, for example, come out of retirement and say 'Oh ok, I'll fight for peanuts.' No, I'm not like that. I know the game.
I wanted to fight Cejudo only because it meant I was gonna win the title. It wasn't about fighting a person.
The advantage I have over every other fighter is my mentality.
I was an emotional manipulator of fighters . . . You have to know how to be cold, you know? Just have no -emotions, no feelings. It takes time, though, to develop that. I'd been working on that since I was 12 years old. It doesn't happen overnight.
