Look what happened when I fought Anderson Silva. It can't possibly get worse than that. I've already seen the bottom and it wasn't that bad. I made it through. I survived. It's fighting. It's not the end of the world.
I've been in a few fights and I know what it's like to get punched in the face.
My favorite fight was when I fought Rampage. I always wanted to fight Rampage because of the way he fights. It's about pride. The way he comes forward. My friends in Brazil would always tell me they wanted me to fight Rampage. When I fought him, it was a big deal for me. It was the first big fight I was in. It was a great fight.
I'm the former lightweight champion. I want to fight one of the top guys. I don't want to fight a guy who isn't ranked.
I've sparred with lots of people and played around with everybody.
I've wrestled Rich Swann countless times. I've faced Akira Tozawa in Japan and America. Zack Sabre Jr. is another guy I've faced many times.
During the fight you really don't feel much; you've got so much adrenaline going. Luckily I've mostly been on the winning side, so I haven't felt much pain inside the octagon.
Seven years is a long time, and seven years of fighting the best guys in the best organization in the world, the biggest organization in the world, it hardens you. You don't stay seven years without evolving. It doesn't happen.
I was fighting at 125 pounds when I was 15 years old... then became a champion at 126 pounds at 25 years old.
I've fought tactical fights in a gym, but never in a fight before.
I probably should have been fighting at 155 for a long time, but I was so close to the top at 145.
'Dancing with the Stars' was a really great experience. People were definitely surprised that I'm a fighter, or they couldn't believe I'm a professional fighter, but I feel like I'm going to get that for a while. I'm excited to bring a new demographic over to MMA and the UFC.
I train with top guys like Chuck Liddell and Lyoto Machida, I have trained with Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, and nobody have ever dominated me.
Fighting Raphael Assunaco isn't that exciting to me. I have nothing against him; he's a good guy and a good fighter.
My first fight was incredible; it was surreal. I almost forgot I had to fight, I was so overcome with emotion. It was just an amazing experience.
The biggest shock was the first fight. I didn't know what to expect. I fought Fujita. At that time, he was one of the most dangerous PRIDE fighters. He was a complete beast and with 130 kilograms of pure muscle.
I've trained with Douglas Lima, he's a tough kid, but I could feel the weight difference.
Pro wrestling has absolutely helped my fighting.
I've learned from every single fight, every single opponent - some great fighters.
People say McGregor is tall and all that. He's as tall as I am, or maybe even shorter. He might have a longer reach, but I've fought Nate Diaz and Cerrone, who had reach advantage, and fought Anthony Pettis and Ben Henderson.
Some of my fights in PRIDE, I felt tired. I would train on the punching bag and feel great but then get tired in my fights.
I love fighting for the UFC. It's an amazing company. I've done a lot of great things, and they've done a lot of great things for my career.
He's one of the best fighters in the UFC. I never thought I'd face Nick Diaz. I've watched all his fights.
My fight against Chris Leben was a war, and I was fulfilled with that victory because that guy has a ton of experience fighting in the UFC.
My first fight. I fought a girl that was a little bit heavier, a little bit more experienced and I was petrified because I didn't know what I was getting myself into. And I did really well against her and nobody believed it was my first fight.
