Jeremy Stephens
I've been fighting since I was 16, fighting in the UFC since my 21st birthday.Collection: Birthday
We sign contracts to fight, not to dip, duck and dodge.
One thing over my career that I felt I lacked in - which is also a confidence builder as you know - is cardio.
I've always been a pretty relaxed, cool guy in and outside the cage.
People duck and dodge me all the time.
You live, you learn. That's part about being a man, being a father and being a fighter for the first time.
You can go back and look at my fights and you can be like, 'Damn, Jeremy has actually evolved every time. He's took that loss, he's accepted it, he's come back and he's grown and he's progressed and he's moved past that.'
No disrespect, Josh Emmett put me down, but you cannot break me, baby.
Especially in Canada, I feel the Canadian fans are a little bit more exciting than the American fans, they're wild, they're rowdy, they love a good fight and it's an honor to be there.
I feel like I've evolved with the new age, I've adapted to these top guys at 145 pounds.
Guys like to just sit there and get money fights and sit around.
I'm a human highlight reel, my knockouts are too hot for TV, they barely play 'em.
The only time they play my highlight reel is right before I come out and fight. You don't see it on Fox, it's just too scary.
I don't hit bunts, I hit home runs. That's what I do, dude.
I've learned from my losses.
I'm a human, I make mistakes.
Yeah TJ Dillashaw, another great former champion, he just put it on him, didn't allow himself to be bullied and utilizes a lot of swift techniques and he broke Barao. He was able to TKO him twice. I hit a lot harder and I wasn't able to knock him out or TKO him. It just goes to show that the true champion Barao is.
I'm not a dirty fighter. I never have been, my whole life.
I don't mean to hit people in the back of the head, but if they turn, it's not my problem.
I've been in this game a long time, I've been knocked out before, I've had ups and downs.
If you feel like you're the real champion, you should be able to beat everybody and anybody, and take anybody out at any given time.
I'm able to punch you in the face. I'm able to do a lot of things, keep you away from me.
With Siver being an exciting fighter and doing pretty well, I think we'd put on a good one. I think he's perfect guy for me and a great scrap. It'd be an exciting matchup.
I think Jake Paul's got some skills, man. I think a lot of people kind of estimate this guy. I think he actually is gonna do really well against Tyron Woodley, and he might knock him out. And he's got the money, and the training, and he's surrounded himself with really good people, and he's an athletic freak.
I wish there were better ways, like giving out bigger bonuses, so guys fight harder and they really do go in there and try and earn that bigger money. I feel like that would be a little bit more exciting for the fans, exciting for the fighters to get those big paydays, and I feel like we deserve it.
I think we're surpassing boxing with the excitement and the fights that we give.
I mean, look at that Klitschko/Fury fight. That fight sucked! And they get paid what, $12 million? I've seen so many better fights from flyweights and heavyweights in the UFC, because we're true fighters at heart, we'll go in there and put on a show but we're not getting paid like that.
If you're going to take away our sponsors, why not bump it up to $100,000 for a fight bonus? Let us scrap it out and make the fights even better. If you're going to do that, you might as well make the bonuses a little bit bigger so they get bigger and better fights.
You're dealing with a different animal when it comes to Ferguson and Ferguson is not scared of Khabib.
You got to look at Jon Jones and what he's done - the long history of legends that dude's beat.
I'm fighting for my blood, I'm fighting for my family every time I step in there.
It's a fight. You only get one cheque if you lose, you think this is a game? You think this is a sport? It's not a sport, it's fist fighting bro.
The no alcohol, it's opened up a lot of things for me. I've really faced my demons. I've sat. I've been alone. I'm not scared to be alone no more. I really sat with myself and dealt with a lot of fears facing those things and more mental. It's just really helped ripple effect the outside of my life.
I've had my eye orbital broken in the Donald Cerrone fight, and that dude is a killer.
I didn't really believe in myself. Why should a young kid from Des Moines, Iowa, be a world champion?
Right as I was about to get my title break, I would just drop the ball. There was no self-confidence.
People look at us as fighters, and yes, I'm probably one of the toughest dudes you'll ever meet, but I've also been down in the dumps.
I'm a real human being. I'm a person, I have feelings, I have emotions.
I've never been cut from the UFC for not taking fights.
Brian Ortega has ducked me four or five times.
When I hit people, it's not a flash knockout where they get back up and I hit them a couple of times and the ref stops it and they're like 'oh I wasn't out.'
I hit people where it's like 'what happened?' The coaches have to wake them up.
I don't like to give arrogant statements anymore, and in the top 10 of UFC, it's all about the mental state and making it happen.
My whole overall game is getting better, not just where I need to grow, but I'm getting better in areas I'm already good.
Some days you show up and just get crushed, and other days you do the crushing.
My kids are growing, and I want the best for them and the best for me and to set them up in the future.
I definitely want to retire and do some FOX analysis.
I actually love being the underdog or the bad guy.
I just get creative with my training. I can be doing swims individually, or with one other person. I can be doing sprints. I don't need a whole lot.
If anybody broke into my house right now, no warming up, no stretching, I would just murk them.