I've had a phenomenal life. I have a phenomenal God that I serve. I have a phenomenal wife.

Everyone who has kids that you talk to tells you, 'Wait until you have kids. It's going to change you.' You're like, 'Nah, come on. How can it change you that much?' But it changes you so much.

The greatest thing about fighting a guy like Dave Rickels: He always comes to fight.

I didn't have to fight. I chose to fight. I believe God put me on this Earth to be able to do this and do it at a high level.

I love Scott Coker and I love Bellator and I love what we have built together and it's a little uneasy to think that I will no longer be under contract with Bellator after I knock out Benson Henderson and get my hand raised.

I'm trying to be the best lightweight fighter in the world. That's my main objective. I just have to keep my head up, keep training and enjoy this awesome ride that I'm on.

Bellator wouldn't be who they are without my performances and Michael Chandler wouldn't be who he is without Bellator promoting him and us having a phenomenal symbiotic relationship.

I look after two people - my wife and my son.

Bellator has taken care of me, and I've taken care of them. It's been the perfect storm of a symbiotic relationship - them having an asset they were not willing to lose, and me being in a situation where the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Life throws you curveballs and there are things that happen - you don't understand why they happened at the time. But then you step back and understand you're a better fighter and competitor because of the things that happened.

I don't want to just be a great fighter, but also a great man.

For as long as I can remember, our family has been huge Cardinals fans. My grandpa is a personal friend of Whitey Herzog's; they were neighbors for decades. Our love and support of the Cardinals definitely runs deep.

Obviously, beating Alvarez was the first step to getting my name out there. Now people now know who I am and see, at least in some part, that I'm the real deal.

For me, getting up is an inside job, but it has been hard stepping in the cage with guys who I've had to lose against and not a lot to gain.

I'm just getting better every single day and I want to be the best in the world.

It is not that hard to go out there and put on the performance of your life and beat any guy in the lightweight division on any given night.

Not since 2011, when I stepped into the cage and fought Eddie Alvarez for the first time and was the extreme underdog - I've never quite had that feeling of a 10 since then.

If I could do this until I was 60, I would. This is a great life. All I do is train, all I do is work out, and prolong my life by the training that I'm doing, the things I have to do as professional athlete.

Benson Henderson is a guy that I fought before. He has two arms and two legs. He has certain patterns, mannerisms and tendencies that I know I can go out there and exploit.

I had so much growing up and I'm so thankful for all the people who invested in my life.

I'm going to stash up my cash and invest in real estate. I want to be set up for the end of fighting.

I've taken fights on short notice while injured to help save shows, and in return I've been taken care of.

Finishing a guy like Benson Henderson, who hasn't been finished since for six years, the guy doesn't get finished and I finished it with a switch-step switch to Southpaw, knocked him out with my left hand.

I built my name on fighting so hard - I'll always do that - but I'm also trying to become more of a veteran, to be be calm and calculated and not always trying to bowl people over.