Coming from a standing background in striking, I couldn't catch up to the guys with 20-plus years of training on the ground. I had to learn submissions. I found out it wasn't an easy road. I had six losses in a row, but I still felt I was the best fighter in the world.

I don't ask to fight anybody. All I ask is to fight the best fighters in the world.

I was a cheap criminal; I did many, many wrongs. I admit that. Of course, if I could tell each person I'm sorry, I would.

All the guys at this top level, they're pretty much dangerous all over the place. If you're not good all over the place, you'll be in a little bit of trouble. It's hard to swim at the top end if you're only good at one thing.

There was a lot of pride, being one of the elite fighters in the world, in the best promotion in the world. That's what I was proud of. To be called a UFC fighter, that was important.

Normally, a loss, it's hard to swallow, but you get over it sooner or later.

I don't turn down fights unless I'm injured. Never have. So it's a part of my makeup.

At the end of the day, that's just boxing - it's a different sport altogether. But when I finish fighting for the UFC, there are so many different options I have. Boxing is another option I could take.

I've had a pretty chequered past, you know, as a kid, as a troubled kid.

I always remember my dad's blue overalls and the blue overcoat he wore in winter, and I remember my mum's big old Afro. Sometimes, though, in my memories, smudges have replaced their faces.

I don't feel pain like most people.

I couldn't believe that talk about Jon Jones fighting Lesnar - that would have zero legitimacy. In society, we punish people that do bad things. Why isn't it the same in fighting?

I'm always going to say I'm going to knock someone out.

Your mind is the most powerful weapon you have.

A few months before my dad died, his eyes had started to go, and his skin was turning green. When he finally went to hospital, he was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer. None of us kids knew why the old man ignored the doctors and refused their help, but none of us were surprised, either.

I don't want to be remembered as just some tough guy who could take punches.

Cheating is nothing to be proud of.

Home was never a safe place for me. I felt safer on the streets.

I was in jail a couple of times, and I was probably heading back there for a long time. But martial arts saved my life and some of the choices I made with it.

If you want to be the champ, you've got to beat the champ.

If it's dead, I'll eat it. If it's alive, I'll eat it, too. Jus put it in front of me and get out of the way.

Small? Nah, I never want to be small. Big people usually push small people around. Why would I want to be small?

I don't want to be the second-strongest man in the United States or the second-strongest man in the world. They don't get much attention. I definitely want to be No. 1.

I'm blessed to be able to say that at every juncture in my career, I succeeded.