I want to fight Anthony Johnson again, for sure. I want to fight Jon Jones again. I want to fight the guys that beat me, those who are at the top.
It's a dream of mine to be a mixed martial arts world champion.
I sometimes just don't like to see the Ultimate Fighting. I just find it, as a martial artist, I just find it too violent.
Back then in the early '90s, people weren't calling it MMA - we called it Knockdown Sport Budo.
My brother, who created the UFC, had a vision. He knew that people wanted to see who was the best fighter. People have curiosity, what style was the best? Boxing, wrestling, Gracie jiujitsu? It was a quest to find out.
Give me a sport that is greater than wrestling, that's more dominant than wrestling and with more champions in fighting than with wrestling. There isn't. The sport that's king is wrestling.
Bar none, hands down, no matter what division I'm in, I am one of the best fighters in the world.
The way I look at it, if you're the best in the world, you fight the best in the world anywhere, anytime.
In MMA, I found my calling.
I've never wanted to be a cage fighter myself, but I definitely do enjoy the entertainment of it.
MMA is like the Colosseum in Rome: the fans want to see violence.
What's the point of fighting in the UFC if it isn't to become the champion?
You know, MMA doesn't need New York, New York needs MMA. And I say that with all due respect to New York.
But that's the great thing about MMA, you know, you can never predict what's going to happen.
The title's the goal, not to beat Henry Cejudo. Because I already accomplished that goal.
MMA in my opinion is the hardest sport in the world, no doubt.
Georges St-Pierre is the greatest fighter to have ever done it.
I picked up a lot watching Ultimate Fighting. I studied martial arts. But I had an idea to be different, to portray a character people would like.
For me to be able fight in my home state of New York would be a dream come true.
There are a lot of sports that New Zealand does very well but MMA is a truly global sport and it's practiced in the farthest reaches of this earth.
I don't have to prove anything else in this MMA world.
I've been in martial arts for so many years, so to hold the belt of UFC and be on top of the biggest organization, it will be represented in this belt.
I'm open to a super fight.
When I got into the sport and wrote down my goals, it was never to be a UFC main event or to be a on a UFC main card. It was to be the UFC champion.