I'm learning so much every day and every fight is just a huge learning experience for me.Collection: Experience
I've had some deep lows, but in this sport, you also have the highest of highs. I've had all of it.
I've paid my dues, climbed the ranks without trash talk.
When you're an immigrant family, the upbringing, the mentality and the opportunities are all different.
There is no handbook, no protocol on how to live this life. It's a matter of persevering through your problems and keep on keepin' on.
I think my power in my hands is different from a lot of other middleweights.
There are so many people that come in, 'This guy's the next big thing,' they have a couple fights, they lose and then they're out of the organization. The key is to stay on top for a long time.
I don't want to face lower competition or guys everyone expects me to beat. I don't get better that way and what do I gain from it?
If I beat a guy who is highly ranked, that means something and it keeps pushing me up the ladder to where I want to be.
Oh my God, you want to talk about a leper? A guy that's full of disease that's spreading disease all over Ireland? That's Conor McGregor.
I don't pull out of fights.
I feel like my disadvantage, I've kind of learned to make my advantage. My height, I've learned to get under guys real easy. I've learned how to do that and how to maintain my range despite my limited capabilities.
What's the point of having contenders? What's the point of having rankings if we're not going to follow the rankings, or we're not going to the number 1 contenders?
I think I'm a bigger, stronger version of Rafael dos Anjos.
In the past, I feel like I've been my own worst enemy.
I love the Brazilian fanbase. They actually have a pretty good reception of me.
I get a lot of Brazilian fans telling me they support me.
If I win a championship I feel like I can be the guy that just defends the belt.
I want to keep going forward. I want to keep getting bigger fights and keep building myself up in the rankings.
I've been over with Georges St-Pierre in Montreal and over to Team Take Down with Johny Hendricks. I try to learn from these guys and see what separates them from the rest. Honestly, I have all the attributes to be right there with them. I just have to put in that work and work harder than everybody else.
I just feel like I elevate my game and grow as both a fighter and a person.
With every fight I've taken a step up in competition and I've stepped up to the plate to answer every one of those challenges.
UFC is the biggest stage in the world.
When I fought Hall, people thought it was a fluke. I left that fight with a chip on my shoulder and said, well, you know what I want to prove people wrong.
I'm here to win fights and I'm here to stay in the UFC for a long time.
Guys are hard to finish in the UFC. These are the best fighters in the world and they are really hard to put away.
I want to fight and I want to finish fights.
I'm not a point fighter.
Every fighter is different. When I was going to fight 'Cowboy' Cerrone, he was hugging me, we were riding the same van together, everywhere together. He was friendly, you know? Vitor likes to keep distance from his opponent, not talk.
Whatever my opponent wants. If he wants to say hi to me and be friendly, then I'll be friendly back. But if he doesn't, I'll give him that space. It just depends on the fighter. But I can be friendly with everybody. We're gonna fight either way.
I like to be respectful.
There's so many people that have tried to get under my skin and I have a pretty thick skin. I don't play into that stuff.
I lost to guys like Neil Magny. I lost to Tyron Woodley. I felt like maybe I'd like to have a rematch with those guys. But the feeling that I got after fighting Till, I've never wanted a rematch more than I want that. I would love to run that back.
I can knock out anyone in my division and probably submit anyone as well. I can do it all and I'm going to keep proving it.
The bigger the challenge, the more excited I get.
Active fighters, fighters who are winning fights and fighting in the big fights, they should be rewarded.
I had a great 2014. I even won the MMA award for Breakthrough Fighter of the Year. I had a great year - '15 was just not my year.
If your weight is the last thing on your mind, then you're going to have a fun fight.
I like to stand out a little bit.
I have a huge amount of respect for Bisping.
Jacare has knockout power and sharp jiu-jitsu.
I felt like I'm going to try my best to bring back a sparkle to what the 'Ultimate Fighter' is.
You definitely learn from mistakes and adversity and I feel like those setbacks are a catapult to your true destiny.
My height and my reach are at a disadvantage at 185. These guys are over six-feet tall and have a major height and reach advantage over me, so I feel like 170 is where my body type fits best.
I like that I'm doing whatever it takes to get the title shot.
There's a lot of fake stuff online. A lot of photoshopping, a lot of fake people.
I like to be able to fight anybody in the top-five.
I think the difference between middleweight and welterweight is, I can be a mediocre middleweight or I can be the welterweight champion.
I want to be the welterweight champion.
I've learned that people will say anything online. Anything to get your attention, to get you to respond to them. And many of those people are the saddest people on earth.