I've been the underdog my whole life.

Win or lose or draw, you always go back and critique your performance and say you could have done things better. Even if I put the guy away in one round, I can go back and say I made a lot of mistakes and need to tighten up. But that's the type of person I am. Improve. Improve. Improve. When I lose I come back stronger than ever.

Everybody has their own path. Everybody peaks at different times.

I'm not fighting just to fight. I'm fighting to be the world champ.

I'm not the same fighter I used to be.

If you move in and out, throw shots and use angles and the guy's feet are planted, you look a lot better.

I try to work on the small things.

I have mouths to feed and I want big fights!

There's always the pressure to win. That never goes away, but being a main event, I want to go out there and put on a great show for the fans and live up to being a main event. That doesn't really stress me out or pressure me anymore. The fight is enough.

Adversity teaches a man a lot about himself.

I feel like I've always been a great fighter but I'm learning the patience part of it and not getting overwhelmed with emotion and adrenaline and going out there and brawling like a maniac.

Those deep, dog fights - I love that. That's why I fight.

I'm not a quitter, man. Just look at my history.

I'm chasing gold. And whatever fight can get me closer to being a world champion, those are the fights that I want.

It's MMA. Anything can happen. Nothing's for sure.

I don't talk bad about people who I roll with.

You can't just be only going to the gym when you sign a fight contract or you'll just be the same fighter every time, just more experienced.

No matter where I came from, I'm a fighter.

Fighting comes down to who you are as a person. With B.J. Penn, he has no problems, not a hard upbringing and came up with money or whatever and he's just a fighter, he enjoys the fight and he refined his skills so I don't think it necessarily has to be a rough upbringing for guys to be great fighters.

I'm proud of everything I accomplished in this sport.

I probably should have been fighting at 155 for a long time, but I was so close to the top at 145.

Cutting to featherweight took months of intense weight cutting and training. Going to lightweight, I can fight more often.

Yeah I do think featherweight is done for me. It sucks because I worked hard and fought a lot of hard fights and did a lot of things right to move up the rankings and I have to abandon all that moving to 155 starting fresh.

I think a lot of fighters are cutting way too much weight.

Every fight is like a different landscape of what you go through. But sometimes it's small injuries. Sometimes it's lessons you walk away with. Every fight is different but they all hurt, for sure.

I come from south Louisiana where everyone has a blue-collar work ethic.

People I grew up with, my family, work in the oil fields. Everyone works a labor job - construction, concrete. All we know is work. It's a physical culture.

It's not hard to look great against a guy who isn't moving a lot.

I knew I had the ability to become a world champion, I knew I did. I knew I just needed the opportunity.

Grit, determination, the right amount of crazy, self belief - everything it takes to be a champion. I have that.

Fighting, you have to be selfish.

My goal and path is always to get to the mountaintop and be a world champion, and leave a fighting legacy.

Winning solves everything.

I feel like everybody's who fighting, young fighters and still learning and growing, that should be their goal - to be the UFC world champion.

This sport is a crazy thing, and what happens, it's unpredictable.

Now I'm with the American Top Team, I'm a better fighter, I'm a more patient fighter, I've improved in every aspect.

I want to fight for the real belt, not the interim title.

If a champ has to take a long layoff then I think that's the only time interim titles should be introduced to the division.

The cut made me hate the process of getting ready for a fight. I was focused on how to make weight instead of how to beat my opponent.

I want to fight the fights that fans want to see.

I'm not really chasing rematches.

I'm a complete fighter and I'm not scared, I'm very willing to use every part of the game to get the win by any means necessary.

Of course every fighter, whether they admit it or not, they have aches and pains and they go into fights hurt.

If you're training for a fight, you're going to be pretty much, there's going to be days where you're hurting.

Normal pain is no problem, that just comes with the job.

I've just been in a lot of big fights, and I've been in some good spots and some bad spots.

The way I feel, I'm the best in the world.

I think I fought my first fight in Zuffa in 2010.

I'm the kind of guy that grows, and that's what I do everyday in the gym. Work on new stuff and stay relevant.

When I'm in south Florida I'm training, resting, training. I'm working on my craft out here, very tediously. That's what I come out here for.