I'm not in the business to get hit and take concussions.
— Demetrious Johnson
That's the beautiful thing about mixed martial arts - and I'll tell people that - you have to think outside of the box.
Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the land; I'm the fastest man in mixed martial arts.
If you want to see great mixed martial arts, tune in when I fight. If you want to see drama and all of that stuff, you guys can go watch 'Bachelors in Paradise.' They'll give you enough drama you can want to watch.
Honestly, I would love to fight Henry Cejudo. You've got that gold medalist in the Olympics, I would love to test myself against that.
I focus on staying healthy, going to the gym, and I go out there and fight.
I come from one of the great coaches - Matt Hume, Brad Kertson - and my skill set is well-rounded.
I would have to say fantasy RPG and MMOs are my favorite type of games. I love 'Dark Souls II.' That game is so hard and unforgiving; if you beat that game, you have true skills.
I grew up with a single mom, two brothers, and a sister, and after school, we would play outside then go home for dinner and play videogames together. It's something I enjoy doing, and it's also cheap entertainment compared to a movie or paying for cable. You pay $50 one time for a game, and you can play it as many times as you want.
It's always about bringing in the numbers, the viewership. That's what gets you the money.
When I got into this sport, I thought all I had to do was beat people and finish fights, and everything else would take care of itself.
Yes, I'm known as the most technical fighter in the world, and I'm going to keep that as my brand.
I think the only person who will ever lose in a fight and still end up making a million dollars is Conor McGregor - that's just because of how his contract is structured or whatever.
UFC has failed to market and promote me appropriately.
I do not like getting hit. I can take a hit, but I don't want to damage my brain if I don't have to.
Pay-Per-View is run by drama. It is. It's true. I've done the research for myself. You look at Jon Jones. When Jon Jones fought Machida, probably did about $200,000, $300,000. When he fought Cormier, they made, like, $875,000.
I think the reason I'm the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world is I beat everyone in my division.
In wrestling, when I was in high school, my coach said you should be able to hit every single move from any position. So, arm drag to double-leg, snap-down to double-leg. You should be able to hit a move from anywhere, so with my armbar, I can essentially hit it from any position because it's my favorite submission.
I don't bash my company. I don't bash my opponents. I don't miss weight.
Truly, I am not afraid of one man in this whole UFC Octagon roster. I truly don't care. What's the worst thing that's going to happen to me? I lose. I get knocked out?
You look into an encyclopedia and ask what fighter can do any type of martial art at a high-caliber level, my picture will show up.
I don't need to tell any one of you guys that I can do what I can do. I'll just show it to you guys, and if you want a little sneak peak, come watch me work out. That's how I do my thing.
I never cared who I was going to fight because, at the end of the day, it makes no difference.
I'm very well-rounded. It's mixed martial arts.
'Super Contra' was the game I fell in love with. I played and beat that game with my mom.
I'd rather have head stomps and kicks to the head on the ground rather than elbows because I think to kick someone in the head while they're laying on their back is very hard. Elbows are easy. You can be here, and I just cut you and won the fight.
I'm the type of fighter who has never made an excuse. I fought with a broken rib, broken leg.
I want the whole world to watch me fight. But you know if people are just tuning in to hear me trash talk are not fight fans.
I don't care if my opponents are cheating or not.
Look at my track record for showing up to fights. Look at my track record of finishing fights. Look at my track record of getting fight night bonuses. Ask yourself if you think that if the UFC decided to truly put marketing dollars behind me that they couldn't sell me or my fights.
That's all I care about is being healthy.
I'm just a small guy.
I worked a full-time job at a place call Caraustar. We recycle paper, then through recycled paper, we take it and we make V board out of it. If you buy a TV, a new couch, you see these little V boards that make like a V.
Each time I'm training and sparring, I'm always pushing myself to submit my training partners.
I'm not looking for people to put that vote on me to be prom king of the UFC.
I really, truly appreciate Conor McGregor's style - his fighting style and the way he talks. The reason why is because he reminds me of a young Mike Tyson, a young Muhammad Ali, the way he talks.
At one point in time in my career, it was like, 'Oh, he never finishes nobody.' Then, the next thing you know, I'm breaking peoples' arms, making them tap out, and knocking them out. Then, the next thing you know, it's, 'Oh, I don't like his personality.' It's like, 'Okay, well, if you don't like who I am, I can't help you there, buddy.'
There are things - I want to compete in a big tournament, like an eight-man tournament, like the old fighters. You're going to compete; you're going to fight this one and this one.
Obviously I'd love to see Demetrious Johnson, you know, 'Demetrious Johnson $500,000 payout baby,' absolutely.
I saw Bobby Green and Lando Vannata, and everybody in the back was like, 'Oh, man, that's a sick fight!' And I'm like, 'Dude, look at his face, that cannot be good for his brain.' I'm just honest.
I always loved playing video games. It was something my mom did, and my sister played as well.
That's one of the things I loved about Pride: the first round was ten minutes.
For me, you look at the beginning of his career, the man couldn't even make weight. That's how I found out about Henry Cejudo to begin with. 'Oh, Henry Cejudo misses weight again.' I'm like, who's this guy who keeps missing weight. When the UFC signed him, I was like, 'Great, you guys signed another guy who can't make 125.'
I'm not going to go out there and have these slugfests, but I'll go out there and dominate my opponent. That's what I do in my fight.
You're starting to see a lot of fighters, like, 'We want more money so we can be able to retire eventually,' instead of, we get to 30 years old, and we're like, 'Alright, I think Costco has openings.'
As a fighter, I pay very close attention to the amount of marketing that goes into and around my fights, and I can tell you that you'd be hard pressed to find much that has been done to promote me outside of 'TUF 24,' which was minimal in comparison to other fights, fighters, and shows.
Honestly, just all the love and respect from the fans, that's always the biggest thing that puts a smile on my face.
I don't like to disrespect people or my opponents. Anything can happen.
I'm a good dad. I'm an evolved dad. You know, you see a lot of guys when they're in training camp, they go off, do their own thing. But I'm in the midst of it. Swim lessons? I'm there. Changing diapers, teething, doctor's appointments, I'm there 24/7.
