I don't really know what 'respect' means. That sounds like something a kid in the street says after he's getting ready to take your coat and your shoes.
One element of wrestling that I know what I grew up with we put a lot of emphasis towards was the takedown. But, you could win an Olympic championship and never score a takedown, and I don't know if MMA fans are even aware of that.
I don't think I've ever had a better experience in the sport than coaching 'The Ultimate Fighter.' I got to do it twice, but I got to really build relationships there that will last forever.
My dad was a plumber. That's hard work. He never missed a day of work. I will never disrespect him by not showing up for an athletic competition that has a maximum duration of 25 minutes. There should be forfeiture if you have to pull out of a fight. If you don't show up, it should be a loss on your record.
Nobody breaks in a fight and comes back in the same fight. Once you break, you're done for the night. You've gotta go back. You've gotta shower up. You've gotta fly home. You've got to reassess, take three or four months, and try it again. But that Anderson Silva breaks in that fight, and still finds a way to win, is remarkable.
Every fight day, I just stay in my room the entire day, and I just stay in bed. I sleep as late as I can, which usually isn't very late; I'm kind of an early riser. But I try to just stay there in bed. I don't usually eat the day of the fight. I don't eat until after the fight.
As fighters, the stark reality is, there's times in that cage when we want out. There's times when we've had enough and we want out, and we're able to recognize defeat.
It doesn't matter if I'm a rival of Anderson Silva's or not; I'm also very objective. And I'm not going to take something from a guy that he earned. Anderson Silva earned the right to be called the greatest of all time. And those are just the facts.
I go to a wrestling match, and I love it. But at a wrestling match, on every level - that includes Division I - you go into an empty and cold gym, you roll out a mat, and you set 10 chairs up on each side. That's a dual meet, and it's very hard to act like it's a big event.
There was years when my father didn't even make a hundred grand - or barely made a hundred grand - and sure, we had a maid, but she only came twice a week. What do you think happened the other five days? You think those dishes washed themselves? You think those clothes got themselves in the hamper?
When you go, 'Listen, I didn't know. I didn't know the rules.' That works. That's a good, solid defense. One time.
I don't walk around looking into cameras and telling people I'm the best fighter in the world just to hear myself talk. I say it for the same reason they put warnings on packages of cigarettes, and fighting Chael Sonnen may be hazardous to one's health.