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When I heard about the great work that the NSW Family Foundation is doing to support the families of Navy Seals, I knew I wanted to support that.
I think 205 is the place for me. I walk around at 225, 230 at the most, and that's kind of small for a heavyweight. I think 205 is where I'll be.
I have nerves before every fight - it doesn't matter who I'm fighting - and every fight is your biggest fight, so I've always got to check myself.
I came into this game a wrestler and that was pretty much it. I was tough, I could take a guy down and beat him up. I threw a good overhand right.
It's not like I'm fighting bums out here, I'm fighting the best competition out there, and I'd been a perennial top five guy in the UFC before I left.
My long-term goal is to become the UFC champion and to hold that 205-pound title. If you're not really in it to do that, why even bother with a sport like this?
My mindset has changed. When I was fighting guys like Glover I was second-guessing myself. Am I the best in the world? Do I deserve to be up here. Now I know it.
We step up and fight the top names that nobody wants to fight. So if I hear people saying, 'oh, you're ducking this or ducking that,' no I haven't ducked anybody.
I believe coming up to heavyweight, I can shine. That's where I feel the best in terms of being agile, speed, cardio, all that kind of stuff plus I have the power.
Coming over to Bellator, it was a great decision. I came over and had the opportunity to fight for the light heavyweight title right away at Madison Square Garden.
I've been through enough competition in amateur wrestling my whole life to know that sometimes you have off nights and you don't perform and chalk it up to that and move on.
I don't think I need to pick a weight class. I feel like I'm that perfect in between. I have the strength, I have the power to fight at heavyweight and I can drop down to 205.
When I'm a little lighter, I feel faster and I feel better. I thought I needed to be big, but I learned that I'm better off being quicker and more agile, because I still have strength.
I think it's one of the more underrated careers out there. A lot of times it wasn't the flashiest stuff, but I've gone out there, I've had great streaks, I won the light heavyweight belt.
After I started training with some of the best in the world and fighting in the UFC, I started really wanting fights with guys I used to idolize and watch on TV. Guys like Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture.
There was a time in the UFC, after the Anthony Johnson fight, where I said, 'You know what? I'm gonna quit making a big deal of these fights. I'm gonna have fun and make it exciting and enjoy the process.'
For me, I feel like every time I go out there, I have to prove something, because whether it's fans or the fighters I'm going to fight potentially or am scheduled to fight, there's always an excuse of why I won.
I want to fight Cormier, that's been a fight I've been trying to get forever. I can go in there and take him down. I can threaten him in ways he hasn't been threatened. I don't think he's fought a wrestler like me.
I got to a point I was so focused on getting a title shot all the thought in my head was to go out there and win at all costs, so maybe it made me fight a certain way, maybe take a lot of risks and stuff like that.
I need that name in Rashad Evans, a name that UFC and the fans respect. They know his skill set. They know what he can do. You go out there and beat a guy like that, you've proved yourself to the UFC and to the fans.
I was very new to the sport when I entered 'The Ultimate Fighter' and basically got by on my athletic ability and my wrestling. I've since added a lot more tools to my game and continue to develop as a mixed martial artist.
Yea, I really don't lift much during training camp, I just focus on strength and conditioning, but in the time off, that's where I'll really hit the squats and the dead lifts. That's when I tend to put on some weight, get to about 230lbs.
I'm not taking anything away from DC. He carries himself well, is a champion, a stud athlete, an unbelievable fighter and it'd be one hell of a fight. But I wouldn't be in this sport or the position I'm in today if I didn't believe I can beat him.
There will always be something down there that says, 'All right, you won the Bellator title but you never won the UFC title.' I've thought about that. I've never had the opportunity, and yes, a lot of it is my fault... but I never got that opportunity.
I definitely followed him. Coming up, if you wanted to see some fights on YouTube, you pulled up Fedor. His tenacity, aggression and ability to get out of bad positions and bad situations - he used to be in those freak-show fights against guys who were 7 feet - he'd figure it out and get it done.
Lil' Nog had some trouble with Jason Brilz primarily because he put a scramble into every position he had. Nogueira would be going for a half guard sweep and Brilz would use his wrestling to create a better position. Nogueira is a very well rounded fighter, but I think the main thing he lacks is a good wrestling base.
I'm really into circuit training. You don't have to do each station for very long. Implementing some free weights, maybe a treadmill if you're at a gym, you can put together your own little circuit. Go hard for five minutes, take a minute break. Maybe do a one minute hard run on the treadmill, right into some pull ups.