I'm not trying to sell pipe dreams to people. I'm not giving them some fake utopia. I'm not telling them it's easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it. But you don't fight the fights you can win, you fight the fights that need fighting. That's the most important part.
Guys don't want to take hard fights, they avoid any challenges, they take the easiest fights and then they get rewarded with a UFC contract. That's not right, that should never happen that way.
If the fights that I take make sense, and there is not a 27-year-old number one contender in the world, then I'll probably be interested in doing fights that make sense and fights that are marketable.
Once I'm world Champion we can think about what fights are fun rather than fights that need to take place.
If they're not the toughest fights I can get, then give me a complete washup, someone that'll be an easy payday. But I'd rather have the toughest fights I can get so I can get to the title the fastest way possible.
I need to take fights, and I expect to win all my fights, whether it's higher ranked or lower ranked.
I've never chosen the easy route to world titles or the easy route in fights, and I came up short against Stevenson.
All 48 of my fights have been hard. None have been easy. All played a major key. It's the 'Mayweather Era.' I feel that every fighter is an artist and they all take pictures their own way. I'm just one of the very best artists.
I just want fights like that. Fights that get me excited. Fights that are going to be exciting.
I don't watch a lot of featherweight fights yet some of those fights are the best fights ever.
These kinds of fights, these big fights that get everyone talking and interested, these are the fights I want.
There's no easy fights in the UFC.
Remember this well. There are two kind of fights. As long as we place ourselves in battle, we must always know the difference: fights to defend life... and fights to defend pride.
Anybody in Britain, the big fights. I'm here for the big fights. I don't care about the little fights any more.
I had no easy fights ever since I joined the UFC.
The road I've taken to this point has not been easy. Being back on HBO is a big thing, but fighting on HBO in my hometown is huge. To be great you have to fight the best. Chad has beaten the best so these are the type fights I want to take. I will put on a great show for all the fans that come out to Oracle Arena.