Athlete

I wanted to be amongst the greats. I wanted to be a Simone Biles, a Michael Phelps, an Ashton Eaton. I wanted to be those guys.

I was an All-American at three different weight classes in college. Started off at 149, then 157, and then finished up my senior year at 165.

I don't know if I'm really going to do it. But I've considered doing one fight and then getting out with my hands clean.

Every year I win, everything I do, it cements my legacy.

Believe it or not, my goal was always to play in the NFL.

It's easy to be selfish and focus on what you have to do and what you need to do to accomplish your goals and be like, 'I'll give back later,' but there's no better time than now.

I want to be the guy who our sport looks up to, and win multiple championships.

People need to feel like their heroes are human, not on the mat but in the world. The more people can see that, the more they can understand that they're capable of doing great things as well.

When I was growing up, I was a big Ultimate Warrior fan; I liked Macho Man Randy Savage and a lot of other bad dudes.

Donald Trump and I have very different views on Iranians. I am confident that if he ever visited the country, he'd learn a lot about the people and come back to the States with a newfound appreciation for the Persians.

I have never been affected by terror, but here in Iran, I have never felt any ill will toward me - the opposite, actually.

It's always been a battle for me between personal goals and wanting to be able to share the success I've had with my family. And I guess as I've gotten older, I've kind of realized, you know, you can do all these cool things, but if you don't have people in your life to share it with, what's the point?

The difference between the greats and the legends is their ability to focus for longer periods of time.

It's one of those things: we've got guys that are very offensive and can take down anyone, and we've got guys that don't shoot at all but are very hard to take down. It's one of those things. You've got to decide what you're good at.

All I had was wrestling. If I'm not good at the only thing I have in life, I've got to get better at it.

The way the podium is situated in wrestling, the first place spot is the center. So if I'm in a bathroom, I'll look for the first place urinal.

I just want one fight. Because, like, for me, it's not about the status, not about the glory. It's not about the money. Like, I just want to throw my hands and see what I'm made of. And I think that wrestlers and fighters have that same fighting spirit.

I missed a lot of important milestones in my children's lives to pursue this sport.

I love kids - they're so carefree and always put a smile on my face.

A lot of guys get out of wrestling immediately after winning a gold medal. Every time another Olympics comes around, it's always a bunch of fresh faces. For me, to win an Olympic gold and have a chance to win another would be huge for our sport.