Athlete

It's great that mixed martial arts allows people to still be in touch with their animal side and duke it out in a cage, but I think it's important: we're still nurturing beings, and we should still have compassion for each other.

I love spoiling a party. I love it when someone is on a roll and just messin' that up.

I think we have a great opportunity as fighters and athletes to be good role models. I'm by no means perfect, but I think we can try.

Martial arts is about honor and respect.

We need the villain sometimes. It makes for an interesting story.

I wanna fight the best.

All the scars on my body, all the bumps and bruises, all the muscles - that is a story of everything I have done. And it's not just my story. My ancestors who came before me gave me this vessel to sculpt and mold.

There's a process to everything. If you fast track or make shortcuts in any way, and you get too much of one thing, you're just out of balance.

Of course, fighting is one of the most emotional things that you can possibly do. You have to constantly deal with your emotions, especially myself. I have so many that that's where I get my energy from. But it's a matter of controlling them, and yeah, I just don't let nothing affect me.

I feel like we have a duty as fighters to try and be a better example.

When you want to be a fighter, you have to give it everything you got. MMA just became who I am because of the amount of work I was putting into my training. It all starts in the gym. The hours turn into days, days into weeks, and weeks into months; it's like school - the more time you spend learning, the better you'll be prepared for a test.

Nobody's the same. So, I think that people benefit in different things than others.

Oh, man - I don't have just one favorite fighter, but I draw from many different aspects of each fighter. But I will say, just going back in the history of the UFC, just kind of trying to learn from each fighter, I've been looking at Brock Lesnar, all the things he did for the UFC back in the day, and his attitude and things like that.

I just wish there were a little more peace in the world.

All I can do is make sure I show up to fight, and then they have no choice but to pay me.

A lot of times, my best friend was my dog.

It takes a lot of courage in that cage no matter who you are.

My dream is to be a farmer myself, but also to provide opportunities to others who don't have the land or the resources, in order to grow food themselves and teach them how to do it.

You just keep a positive attitude no matter what comes in your way - challenges, roadblocks - don't let it faze you, and you can overcome anything.