Robbie Lawler
I think fans expect fighters to beat each other up, and what I expect out of myself is to stay of trouble.
I don't know what the fans expect out of these fighters, but I know what I expect out of myself. And that's go out there, beat people up, and just be me.
Usually, when I liked athletes growing up, it was because they could hit a ball very far or they can throw a ball very fast. They can shoot a jumper, or they can dunk the ball.
I can see that I can be a role model.
Everybody would rather get a quick submission, a quick knockout.
I worry about myself in the ring; I worry about what I can do and how I can dictate a fight.
I never lost sight of my goals. I never stopped thinking I could reach the top.
You don't appreciate what you have when it all comes to you real quick. I went from nothing to everything all at once.
I don't fight for my legacy or for the glory or anything like that. The feedback from the fans is nice, don't get me wrong; it's a good feeling having them - you on their side. But I'm motivated by making a good living for my family, and that's what made me get serious about this.
I know you can't fight forever, and there's only so long you can do this.
Everyone's got an opinion, and not all of them are good ones.
The best part about being a champion is going out and defending your belt, so that's what I plan on doing and doing it many times.
The basics win fights.
Sometimes spectacular things look really great, but when push comes to shove come fifth round, the basics, fundamentals and technical aspects are going to come into effect.
My techniques are basics, but my willingness to be in the pocket and see things is very high level.
Even when you lose, you get better. Sometimes when you lose, you win.
Sometimes when you are winning, you don't see your flaws; you don't see what you are not good at.
I'm not gonna tell any man what he should do in life.
I don't really think about or pay any mind to what everyone thinks about my fighting style or if they watch me fight; I just concentrate on myself.
It's nice that fans want to see me fight. It definitely helps and gets everyone excited. It gets the UFC excited, and they are quick to put me back in there. But I really just focus on myself and getting ready to fight.
I focus on making sure I'm sharp, and it doesn't matter who I am fighting. I need to perform at my best and try to elevate my game to the highest level I possibly can, so that is what I concentrate on doing.
I've always loved to fight. I love what I do, and that is why I've been doing it for so long. I really enjoy fighting and competing at a high level. I love getting in there and getting after it.
I always believed in myself, and even in the bad times, when I'd do bits of greatness here and there, it was those kinds of things that kept me alive and helped me to get to where I am now.
There wasn't much money in this sport when I started, but I didn't get into it because of money. I loved to fight, and I loved MMA.
Adidas is one of the biggest companies in the world. To have a company like that, a mainstream company, a major sports company, to say they want me, it's awesome.
No one ever wants fight of the night. Every fight I've gone in, I want knockout of the night. I want to be in and out quick. Sometimes, these guys just have a lot of grit - they're highly trained, and I just can't get them out of there, so I get fight of the night.
Winning fires me up.
I'm just willing to do a lot, take a lot, and force people into a fight. That's something a lot of people aren't ready to do. Some people are.
When push comes to shove, I'm a fighter, and I'm going to force someone to fight. It takes a lot of technique, it takes a lot of skill, but to take that, and make something of it, it's a lot of heart and a lot of determination, and that's something I have. That's who I am.
I've actually done a really good job listening to my body, relaxing. Some days you train hard, some days you rest a little bit.
I think people appreciate that I've been around so long, and I never gave up on myself and just kept grinding, and eventually I made it to the top.
When St-Pierre retired, it brought a lot of enthusiasm to the weight class, and things got shook up.
I don't like going to decisions. I always try to finish people, knock them out, beat them up, and that's always the game plan.
It's all about being sharp and not taking too much damage. That's always the game plan.
I don't worry about who they're putting in front of me. Why would I? That's just nonsense for me to waste my energy.
My coaches do all the breakdowns of my opponents, and I leave that up to them.
It doesn't matter who I'm facing. I'm concentrating on myself.
Woodley has tremendous athleticism, brings a lot of technique - well-rounded fighter.
My coaches have done a good job of tightening my skills, where I can dictate a little bit more where the fight is going.
Everyone's out there trying to take what's mine, and they're going to have to fight me for it.
You can only stay at a high level so long before you need to rest your body.
Every day, I need to get better. I need to get stronger. I need to get faster.
I want to go out there and be clean in my performances and showcase great knockouts.
I just want to be a better fighter, plain and simple.
I was getting a lot of good work with my wrestling up in Iowa, but I needed a more all-around game, striking, jiu-jitsu at a high level. I had a lot of good coaches out at ATT to work with. They pushed me. Everything was smarter. Everything was precise.
It has never been a motivation thing. I'm a fighter. I always show up and give it my all.
It's about being able to go through the grind, willing to get back up when you're knocked down. And when life's not going well, not getting down on yourself and just getting back up and getting back to work, and striving to be the best you can be.Collection: Getting Back Up
You really can't worry about stuff you can't control... You need to focus on getting where you need to be and not worry about what could have been and what should have been.Collection: Should Have
I don't need to do all the trash talking. I try to do it with my fists, my knees, and my feet.Collection: Feet