I got to share the Octagon with Clay Guida. I got to share the Octagon with Cub Swanson. Now I'm going to share the Octagon with Frankie Edgar. These are things that, as a fighter, you always dream of.
I'm just going to go out there, pop on my leather gloves, and constantly make connections outside the Octagon, and that will make me bigger in the Octagon.
I've done nothing but show up and fight, go to work inside the Octagon, outside the Octagon, and do things right. But people want to talk about me and discredit me.
I fight for the women. I try to do my best inside the Octagon to fight like a man; then, people will respect girls in the Octagon.
There's always going to be people talking so you just have to focus everyday and be the best fighter you can be in the Octagon on the day of the fight.
To be honest, any one of those guys that I've stepped in the Octagon with - Darren Till, Anthony Pettis, Tyron Woodley - I would love to step back in the Octagon with those guys.
I feel like a lot of my fans hold high expectations of me when it comes to inside the Octagon - not so much outside of the Octagon - but I feel like most of my performances are pretty dominant, so I don't feel like I have the luxury to not perform in an extremely impressive fashion.
What you put into it is what you're going to get out of it. If you're getting the chance to step into the octagon, you better be going full speed and give it everything you've got.
I think the mental preparation isn't something that you can work on in one large sum. It has to be a collective collaboration of doing little things for your mental state constantly throughout the prep and managing your life outside the Octagon, managing your life in transit to the Octagon, managing your life once you get to training.
We all share the planet, the rainbows share the sky, why can't we all share the same dream? And rap about what we see?
My number one goal was to be the best fighter ever in the Octagon. I think I can hold hands with many who can stake that claim.
Real love is on the inside. It's somebody you have a common ground with, you share the same values, you share the same interests, you share the same humor, you share all those things that are things that will last you the rest of your life.
I have a taekwondo background, but I also try to invent new moves and make sure that when I step into the Octagon, I'm a different fighter.
During the fight you really don't feel much; you've got so much adrenaline going. Luckily I've mostly been on the winning side, so I haven't felt much pain inside the octagon.
Let me be clear: MMA training is tough work, and every fighter has had to enter the Octagon with aches and pains as well as exhaustion. This is the game.
My heart outweighs all the talent. If they've got more talent, I believe that my heart will still overcome that. You've got to have heart to step inside the octagon anyway.
The emotion that I have going into the Octagon and from the crowd is unbelievable. It's priceless.