That's the difference between the champion and the No. 1, No. 2 contender - the ability to make decisions.
I'm going to work hard to get that rematch with Kamaru Usman. Whatever it takes.
I'm a hard worker.
Even with the 'rona, I believe I can beat Nate Diaz, out-box him, out-grapple him. I can slap that guy up easily.
I'm a fighter. I'm not gonna be hiding out, waiting, 'Oh, please give me the opportunity.' I'm going to take the opportunity.
I'm super confident in my skills going to the ground against anyone.
A couple of guys I took down and finished them, but a couple other guys, when the fight got started, I feel comfortable on my feet and I got a couple knockouts.
I'm going to be very honest, and people might get mad at me saying this, but after I beat Demian Maia, I don't want to sit down and wait for the perfect fight or the perfect scenario.
I just showed - a lot of guys, Johny Hendricks, Tyron Woodley, a lot of guys couldn't take Wonderboy down the way I did.
I go against the odds. I was No. 2, I'll fight anyone. The odds against you, everybody's against you but I have a huge heart. I'm going to keep fighting.
My father worked as an upholsterer at home and one day this client showed up to get his car seats fixed, and there was a gi inside the car. My brothers and I helped my father at work sometimes, and we found the gi in there and started playing with it.
Being a jiu-jitsu world champion as a black belt was on my bucket list and that was done, so I decided to go to MMA.
Nothing is by chance. No way.
I had no MMA record and I was already in Vitor's corner. I was in the workout room with Rashad Evans, Henri Hooft and Tyrone Spong, and years later I would be part of their team. It's crazy how life goes.
I've been sharpening all my tools. I've been training in order to have many weapons at my disposal.
I was able to learn a lot about myself, how I deal with pressure.
I want to keep staying disciplined, keep getting better.
You know, I've trained with a lot of great guys that have been in the sport for so long.
I want to fight the best guys, and I want to become a champion. And whoever holds that belt - I'm coming for it.
Jon Jones at heavyweight? Me, I don't like that so much.
I don't see an easy path for Jon Jones in the heavyweight division.
First, when you're undefeated and you lose, it's very tough.
I've shown that I got power, I got heart.
I did a lot of little things in that Dan Hooker fight that aren't that big individually, but together, you combine them, and they add up to a loss. But I realized that to be the fighter that I can be, I couldn't just learn from a loss. I needed to learn from every fight and get better.
I watch my fights multiple times and I take notes on it from what I see.
There is always going to be adversity and you have to know how to deal with it, because things aren't always going to go perfectly smoothly.
I've become a better person, more mature, and I've really focused on what is important.
Wonderboy' is a very dangerous opponent.
I cornered Vicente Luque against 'Wonderboy' so I'm very familiar with that style.
I was very, very impressed with Raymond Daniels' game and ability and all the knowledge he has on striking.
I think a lot of things you have to earn.
I've known Kamaru for a long time, since the very, very beginning. Right away we kind of liked to work with each other, and that was always a war. So when Kamaru became a world champion, that motivated me a lot. He just made it even more real for me because I know I could do it.
Jiu Jitsu has changed many things in my life and I really want to help build that community strong.
Training as a competitor, I feel I can help people get better.
I've been doing seminars for over 10 years now and I've been to a lot of different countries where I can share my experiences to help change someone's life.
First of all, when the guy controls the distance the way Conor controls the distance, it's not easy to take the guy down. Another thing that people don't realize is those guys that kick a lot, they develop a lot of power in the hips so those hips are very flexible and very strong.
To take Conor down is not an easy task... He's not a white belt. The guy has been in there a couple of times against the best, Khabib, Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier, and many, many others. He's not that easy. People think, 'Oh just take this guy down.' He's not that easy. The point is, I think his jiu-jitsu is good.
If you want to grapple, that's my house.
Me and Kamaru had over 200 rounds sparring, at least. We started training together in 2012 in Blackzillians.
He was a good training partner for me and I was good partner for him. Just sparring sessions, over 200. And just the grappling sessions, plus the wrestling sessions, for sure I have so many hours on the mat with Kamaru. We know each other very well.
I have so much respect for Kamaru.
My submission game is always on point, it's always there. But to be a better mixed martial artist, I need to be able to take people down.
I want to make sure I'm not going to gas in my fights.
I want to fight three or four times in a year.
Curtis Blaydes is a wrestler, good striker, hits very, very hard.
I'm always going to be against Colby Covington. He's personal. I have a list of a lot of guys that I want to fight and he's number one. He's the number one guy that I want to beat up.
People say you learn when you lose, but why do I have to learn only when I lose? The mistakes are always there, but when you win, there's that euphoria, emotion, and then you don't notice the mistakes. I'm analyzing more, I'm filling my gaps. I don't need to lose to evolve.