Any time you're banged up, your body hurts, you don't really feel like going to the gym. That's when I feel like you really have to push through it. That's when you really make the leaps and bounds in your game. So, pushing through those days is never easy, but that's what gets you good.

I like to compete. So, any time I get to go live - which means go all out - that's what I like to do.

The thing about mixed martial arts is you have to know every single martial art in the world or you're at a disadvantage. So, there's so much to learn. I have to know wrestling. I have to know kick boxing. I have to know boxing. I have to know karate.

I've beaten Anderson twice, then Lyoto Machida and now Belfort. I'll be proud to have taken down three all-time legends in a row.

Being the guy that ended the run of the greatest fighter ever will always be attached to my name.

Rankings don't mean much to me but I'm working towards being the pound-for-pound best in everyone's mind.

I have a Gracie background and a Matt Serra background so I've always used jiu-jitsu but it takes a while to reach black belt level.

When I was at 205, it was kind of weird eating whatever I want and not getting trimmed and not really being disciplined with my diet. It was kind of weird.

From the very beginning, every time I trained for a fight, I didn't train to beat the guy I was fighting. I trained to beat Anderson Silva.

I grew up in a rough neighborhood, so I fought a lot. Even when I was wrestling, if I lost a match, I always thought, That guy would never beat me in a fight.

I was living out on Long Island in Baldwin, New York when Hurricane Sandy hit. With the storm surge, the whole first floor of our house was under about three feet of water. We lost a lot of valuable stuff - sentimental stuff like pictures and Christmas ornaments. Nobody expected flooding that bad.

I remember watching Anderson Silva fight Dan Henderson at UFC 82. I had never really watched MMA, but I looked up to Dan Henderson. He was a wrestler, like me, but also a tough, powerful mixed martial artist.

Keeping my focus on what's important - inside the Octagon and out - is never lost on me.

Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, some good old-fashioned wrestling and plenty of cardio. You name it, it's part of my routine.

I'll never be outworked.

My training varies so much. There's no such thing as a typical day.

I wanna get myself in such good shape that no matter how much I push myself in a fight, I know that the other guy is gonna be a little bit more tired.

Training is my life. It's all I've known since I was in second grade, when I started wrestling.

You're always trying to feel confident and to feel good about yourself, but what it comes down to is really giving up to someone else. Having faith.

When I'm spiritually in the right place, there's no stopping me.

When I'm getting ready for a fight - when I'm in that locker room or I'm making that walk and I finally get to the Octagon - it's all spiritual.

For me, preparation is all about the physical, the mental and most importantly, the spiritual. If I'm not spiritually in the right place, I'm a mess.

The first thing I do when I book a fight is I go to the Internet and I print out a picture of the guy and put it on my refrigerator.

When I've trained as hard as I possibly can through training camp and I come to the end, where my body is worn out and I'm tired, I know I'm ready to peak.