Tyron Woodley
When you're working on a Marvel movie, their legal department do not play.Collection: Legal
It's always something; it's never going to be something that's pleasing. People will always find something to say, and once you become comfortable with that, you can walk away and smile.Collection: Smile
What's on my playlist when I'm fighting is not so much hip-hop. Sometimes, it's something more inspirational. I get a chance to think about what I'm fighting for, like, my family. It takes me to that state because a lot of times, it's a spiritual warfare for me.Collection: Inspirational
It can be a grind, training and fighting and waiting for your chance. But when that opportunity presents itself, you have to be ready because you never know if or when you'll get another shot.Collection: Chance
My goal is to go out there and dominate. We all know if I'm in a position and I see my opponent hurt by landing good striking, I'm going to try to get him out of there. If I'm in the top position or in the position to finish by submission, I'm going to look for that. I don't feel the need to prove the haters wrong.
When things get you in the corner, and it feels like you can't go on, you can fight back. You're never out of the fight.
If you get into an armbar and someone locks it down on you, it's easy for you to tap out, but sometimes dealing with certain things, fighting through certain adversities, and being that I've been in some of the toughest situations in life, it just gives me an edge on my opponent that I'm going to torture him and beat him up.
The second I bring up race in the sport, I'm immediately race-baiting. But I can point out clear facts, where no other champion has been treated like me.
Martin Luther King didn't know he was going to have a day named after him; Muhammad Ali didn't know he was going to be the people's champion. He was doing what he was doing because it was right.
Let's put the cards on the table. Real is real. If I was a different complexion, I think people and fans would treat me a different way.
I don't want to be the dude that you just think about with a crazy suit, talking crap, fighting in these super fights and driving a Rolls-Royce.
I don't believe in ring rust. I used to believe in ring rust, but I talked to my buddy Dominic Cruz, who's a bantamweight, and he basically said it's a mindset. What you do in between in your time off determines how you're going to look when you come in there.
I've had five submissions in the first round. I have 3, 4, 5 knockouts. I've had decisions. I've had grinding fights.
If I'm straight outta shape for a fight, I might need 12 weeks or more to get in shape.
What got me into MMA first was that I was a wrestler, and I was a gangbanger getting into trouble a lot and getting into fights. I grew up in a family of 15 in a four-bedroom house. It was dysfunctional, so that alone made me want to be an MMA fighter. It's really the only sport where you gotta basically depend on yourself.
I used to be in a street fight at least twice a week, so locking me in a cage with somebody, with a set of rules and a referee to jump in if something get ugly, and a time limit, like, it don't scare me.
I love playing Rick Ross' 'Port of Miami' album. Jeezy's 'Thug Motivation 101' is a classic in my opinion, and I still listen to that album to this day. I'm a big fan of OutKast, so pretty much any album they put out is great in my opinion, but I find myself listening to 'Aquemini' a lot. Anything Kendrick Lamar does is great.
I think the elements to shock the world is either the ability to wrestle and grind somebody out or the ability to knock someone out.
People don't realize how sick Amanda Nunes is. She beats some of the UFC bantamweight males in the gym.
I don't think I'll get the credit I deserve, but I didn't get into this game for credit. I got into this game to be the greatest welterweight ever. If I keep knocking them out one by one, I think that will happen.
Nobody should be treated any type of way because of their color, their race, their gender, their socioeconomic status. We're all human.
When I was in college, I was a landscaper. Other than that, coaching has been my life and my job. A lot of people like coaching college, but I would never do it again. There are too many NCAA bylaws, rules and politics.
I didn't pick wrestling over football. My coaches picked that for me. I never wanted to wrestle in college. I always wanted to play football. They thought I was too small, but I had a lot of heart.
My nickname, T-Wood, came from football because I was so small, but I used knock people's helmets off. All I wanted to do was hit. I didn't care about interceptions or touchdowns.
When you're watching people in non-title fights making four times the amount of money that a champion makes, it takes away the flavor of being a champion.
If you are the best in the world, and you believe you should be fighting for a title, I think it is important to get those things out. Because a closed mouth doesn't get fed.
My real fear with fighting is just not letting it go out there and hang out. I don't fear other guys. I'm just scared I'm not going to go out there and give everything I have. Like I'm only going to give a fraction of the things we trained and worked on.
Legacy is really important to me. It's more important than dollars to me. So with that said, I try to find the fights that would solidify my legacy.
A lot of people don't understand my reasoning behind wanting to fight big fights and big names. Knocking off these big names in fights really solidifies me as the best welterweight that's ever done it.
There's something about somebody who does something special in the UFC that they're allotted certain freedoms and wiggle room around the rules. I'm just not in that category. So if I want to fight Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz or Nate Diaz, then it's all the hooplah and all the talk about it.
I'm gonna fall back, do my thing, but goddamn, I'm going to be a tough dude to deal with.
Nobody criticizes The Rock. Nobody criticizes Randy Couture when he goes over and did 'Expendables 3' or anybody who's a crossover.
I'm the person that's been that young, spunky kid that wanted to beat the top guys.
I've really valued each area of MMA.
I just prepare and train to be able to stay on top as long as I can and retire on top.
I've beaten Jordan Mein. I've beaten Tarec Saffiedine. Some people might have said I beat Stephen Thompson. I beat Robbie Lawler. These are the greatest strikers in our sport, but I'm the only one out of all those guys that outstruck the best strikers, and I still don't get the credit for being the best striker in our division.
I have the highest takedown defense in the entire welterweight division, maybe the second-highest on the UFC roster.
I think Nick Diaz is a great fighter.
I'm just trying to get paid; I'm going to be straight up.
Everybody is going to have their moment. I recognize that when my time comes, it's going to be nobody else's time. Nobody is going to have my moment, and I will be a superstar.
I'm just going to go out there, pop on my leather gloves, and constantly make connections outside the Octagon, and that will make me bigger in the Octagon.
Goal number one is to be the welterweight champion of the world, and I'm away from my family way too often. This is a sport where we can make cash now.
Nick Diaz is in the top five welterweights of all time in my eyes. Georges St-Pierre is the number one welterweight in my eyes.
I don't feel an obligation to go by the rankings - we all know how those rankings are produced anyway. I want to go out there and fight the money fight.
Amanda Nunes - I've been telling people that forever - she could compete with a lot of the male bantamweights in American Top Team.
To be just straight up honest, Conor McGregor is a guy that fought at 145 - ever in his life. I haven't weighed 145 since my sophomore year of high school.
I've physically seen profiling. I've seen me walking up the street with my friends, and the police officers get out of their car and bust the hell out of my friends. And they can't do anything about it, and the cop gets back in his car and drives off.
I've had friends who have been beaten up by police officers who put phone books in their T-shirts and then beat them up, then drive off.
Why wouldn't the police officers be on edge? Why wouldn't they be alert? And why wouldn't people in the community trust police officers? Because they are consistently harassing them, and they have experience with police officers doing awful things.
Some people say things they think you want to hear, and some people say the things they are actually thinking.