At middleweight, I started to find an ideal weight for me. I face guys my size, my height, and with my physique.
In 1968, I fought and won the world middleweight karate championship by defeating the world's top fighters. I then held that title until 1974, when I retired undefeated.
Things can change quickly in the UFC. I lost to Nate Marquardt in my first loss as a middleweight and then I defeated Dan Miller and fought for the title against Anderson Silva.
I feel like I'm one of the strong middleweights, physically.
I want to be the middleweight champion.
I think he's a special fighter, I'm a big Canelo fan, but I think he's a special fighter at middleweight and I think a lot of his advantages he has at that level, he'll lose when he steps up to super middleweight.
The UFC want me as their champion. The welterweight division needs me as its champion. It's been static for too long. I'll win the title, defend it a couple of times, and then move up to middleweight.
Middleweight is the best division in the UFC, in MMA in my opinion.
Gennady Golovkin is a small middleweight, I'm a big super-middleweight. The fight was maybe talked about a year after I retired and it was never going to happen.
I want to fight at middleweight.
Middleweight is my category.
I was champion in Dream at middleweight, I'm champion in Strikeforce at light heavyweight, and my final goal is to be heavyweight champion of the world.
I'm fast for a middleweight - I have middleweight speed.
Moving to middleweight had a massive impact on my training regime and my mental space leading into everyday training. I was training for the fight, not just trying to burn calories and get my weight down. It was a big mental relief there.
I'm going to win the belt at middleweight and I'm going to go up to 205 and win the belt there after I dominate the middleweight division for a little bit - that will happen.
The Golovkin thing came up and I said 'fight me at 172lbs and I'll think about it' and he wanted me to go down to 166. He wouldn't even come up to super-middle and I was already retired by that point.
I tried to do the impossible on paper -- beat the middleweight champ coming up from 130 pounds.
I've got two 10-8 rounds against Anderson Silva. That's just the truth. I have no equal at middleweight.
You know looking back on it now I used the fight and after the fight as motivation, to make sure I was going to be the best middleweight in the world for a long time.
There have been many great fighters like Jake LaMotta, Roberto Duran, and Ricky Hatton. Hatton was a great inside fighter.
I think everyone in all due respect just needs to calm down Chris Weidman just because he’s undefeated. He’s undefeated because he’s beaten a bunch of bums. He’s only had about seven fights. I’ve had nearly 30 fights. I’ve been in the UFC when he was still in school probably. So I got nothing against Chris Weidman, but I don’t see him as the Great White Hope that’s going to come in and destroy Anderson Silva. He’s just another middle of the road UFC fighter as far as I’m concerned.
I feel like anyone at middleweight, when I have a full training camp, I'm going to go out there and finish them. That's my mentality.
Everybody at middleweight has been working hard to be a champion.
My best weapon is probably my speed. I am faster than most middleweights, and I know how to use it.
Sugar Ray Robinson is my favorite boxer of all time. He is a middleweight. I saw him and liked him.
