LYOTO MACHIDA

I never underestimate anybody.

Karate is my main martial art; that is what I train in every day. It has always been in my life. Sumo is another Japanese martial art that I got into at an early age. It is something that has helped and added to my overall stance and is a good base. It is not something I necessarily use in all my fights, though.

My father is a Japanese Shotokan karate master, so I have been training karate with my family since I was three years old. I got my black belt in karate at 13 and got introduced to judo and sumo shortly after.

I have fought my brother some times before. We got hurt sometimes, needed stitches, but it was normal after the fights. We always had a positive rivalry that pushed both of us to our best.

As you go in there, you keep winning; after you've had a loss or two, people start to humanize you.

My dad taught me; Mr. Steven Seagal taught me, also.

I don't like to rush things.

I'm a real martial artist, my father always taught me that some way I have to train every day, no matter what happens your life.

I have no control of life. I have to prepare myself for any situation.

Its not just about competition: it's my life, my lifestyle. So I train every day, and I feel very good, because sometimes training is like meditations for me; it's a good escape to me to the problems for everything.

I want to be the middleweight champion.

I think to keep my principles. To keep my principles, I think, is the most important thing. Every day, everyone change. It's normal, but your principle never can change.

Every fight is a new story, a new training camp.

Everything Mousasi says only motivates me. I have a win over him, and I think he's a little bothered by it.

I can't say 'OK, let's begin to exchange and see where it goes.' We want to give a fight and give people a good show, but you have to play on a safety zone.

Fighting in Brazil is always great because you're close to the fans. It's a good energy on fight day: during the open workouts, the support on social media is always closer.

Every fight is a little bit different.

I like to be busy, especially after I lost against Luke Rockhold. The best way to recover is to get another fight.

If I had a choice, I'd rather not fight someone from Brazil, but as a professional, I couldn't say no.

I loss that fight to Phil Davis, but I'm not convinced on that fight. Because it wasn't fair for me. I'd like to do another fight.

I respect Brock Lesnar as a fighter, but I know that I can fight him.

When I prepare for a fight, I never expect it to be easy. I believe that that would create a chance for me to not give my best in the Octagon.

In the mornings at around 5:30 A.M., I train karate with my family.

I'm not gonna change my principles. I'm not gonna change anything just to make money.

If you lose three or four in a row, people start talking about retirement. They are not used to this sport like they are used to tennis. If you take a look at how many times Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer lost, it's all part of the game. Soccer is no different: teams go through bad times and then rise again.