I want to succeed, but I want to make an impact in the people's lives that I'm around. So that means teammates, fans, coaches, staff, everybody.
I did see the Yahoo Sports story Kevin Iole wrote about how the ratings for TUF go up when there's a women's fight in the episode. I can't lie: it felt really good to see that the UFC fans - not only MMA fans but fans of the UFC who maybe hadn't seen any female fights before February of this year - look forward to watching the women fights so much.
I feel like a fight is a season. When you're in the UFC, one fight is the equivalent of a whole football season, so when you lose a fight, the fans only remember you from your last fight, so it's very important to perform well, and to keep winning.
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 want to thank all my fans, teammates, coaches and supporters for the strength they've given me to overcome so much.
Any praise goes to my coaches and my teammates. I have the easy part of waking up and going to the gym. They're the ones that have to break my bad habits and teach me new things. They're literally my everything. In my personal life, it's my wife, and in my professional life, it's my coaches and my teammates.
I do not care who I fight. Line them up. I will let the fans pick. That is the way to do it because I am a fans' fighter. I want to fight the people they want me to fight. I will fight Tyson, Lewis, Tua, Rahman, whoever. I am a real fighter. You do not see too many real fighters out there today. You have these patsy papier - mâché champions.
I heard there was a debate about fighting teammates, and if a fight should happen because the fans or promoter wants it, I will fight a teammate, but family is ridiculous.
I wanted to develop a hypnosis show that no-one had ever seen before, so I made it very topical and interesting. I've created a UFC fight night every night on stage, where I hypnotise twenty people into thinking they're mad, crazed UFC fans, and the energy is unbelievable.
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.
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 feel like - and I think the UFC feels it as well - that I put on good shows every time I fight. The fans have responded well to when I fight - they seem to enjoy it - and that's what I strive to do.
Winning makes coaches, teammates, owners, fans all happy... I didn't care if we win 7-6 as long as we win.
I never want to let my teammates or coaches down, so I always fight through the days when I am exhausted or experiencing discomfort with injuries and headaches.
My observance as a practicing Muslim in the NBA is somewhat uncommon. Since joining the league in 2011, my dedication to my faith has aroused the curiosity of teammates, coaches, trainers and fans.
My whole time at Dunbar, I've had great players around me. My teammates, my coaches.