Bellator offered me a job. UFC never offered me an opportunity to fight. There's no question that UFC is the top. It's a machine. A lot of people, including myself, have helped build the UFC to where it is today.
To stay in the UFC while fighting top opponents... tell me one easy fight I had in the UFC. I have a history in the UFC.
I'm very comfortable in Bellator. It would be interesting to have superfight between a Bellator champion and an UFC champion. I wouldn't have to necessarily migrate to the UFC. We could just have one duel. When it comes to the best fighters in the UFC, I think I'm better than all of them.
The UFC offered me a fight against one of the Top-10 fighters named Demian Maia. I believe he was, like, No. 2 at the time. They obviously believed in me to think that I could face one of the best guys in the division.
Around 2005, UFC offered me a chance to fight for them. But, at that moment, I was under contract with NJPW, and I decided to stay in pro-wrestling. It was a good opportunity, but I don't regret my choice.
Being in the UFC doesn't mean you're the best. UFC is tough too, but Bellator is tougher.
At first, whenever I first got into the UFC, I was like, 'oh my God, I'm in the UFC.' When you come from where I came from, being in the UFC basically meant I was on top of the world.
I'm just tired of the unethical people, the scumbags, all that. Maybe that's how all businesses are run, but in MMA, I've been in the UFC, Legacy, and Bellator. The UFC was the best, and even they didn't treat you that well.
The UFC didn't want me to fight there so what could I do? We were unable to make a deal. They offered unacceptable conditions.
When I got into the sport and wrote down my goals, it was never to be a UFC main event or to be a on a UFC main card. It was to be the UFC champion.
Many people are blind and only care about the UFC. That's the wrong way of thinking. The proof is Michael Chandler, coming from Bellator, having such a devastating victory in his UFC debut against a highly ranked opponent.
I take care of Demetrious Johnson, and the UFC takes care of themselves. That's nothing against the UFC; they're a well-oiled machine. They do an amazing job at advertising and making stars.
I feel for the guys in UFC who helped open the UFC up. Obviously, I'm getting blackballed there by the UFC, so I'm kind of feeling on both sides. If a promotion or somebody in that promotion decides they don't like an individual, then they get to make up the rules, and the fans don't get a say in it at all.
In the UFC, you are only as good as your last fight. It's really a fight-by-fight type of career in the UFC.
I made a good living in the UFC. This isn't a negative thing. I'll always love the UFC. I still do 'UFC Now,' and I love breaking down the fights, and I never miss anything, and if they need anything, they know who to call.
Stipe's one of the top guys in the UFC. He wouldn't be in the UFC if he wasn't one of the best in the world.
There will always be something down there that says, 'All right, you won the Bellator title but you never won the UFC title.' I've thought about that. I've never had the opportunity, and yes, a lot of it is my fault... but I never got that opportunity.