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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Adversity teaches a man a lot about himself.

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.

I have mouths to feed and I want big fights!

I try to work on the small things.

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

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

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

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

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.

I've been the underdog my whole life.

Life is short is what some niggaz said; not if you measure life - by how one lives and what he did.

An orphan's curse would drag to hell A spirit from on high; But oh! more horrible than that Is the curse in a dead man's eye! Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, And yet I could not die.

Nothing is as contagious as enthusiasm. It is the real allegory of the myth of Orpheus; it moves stones, and charms brutes. It is the genius of sincerity, and truth accomplishes no victories without it.

I should have the courage of my lack of convictions.

Courage becomes a worthwhile and meaningful virtue when it is regarded not so much as a willingness to die manfully but as a determination to live decently.