Mikey Garcia Quotes

Tennis is mostly mental. Of course, you must have a lot of physical skill, but you can't play tennis well and not be a good thinker. You win or lose the match before you even go out there.

Poker is about understanding human behavior and managing emotions - yours and the other guy's. That's huge in poker, and it's huge in business.

I think what has allowed me to be successful is that I can absorb more information than most and drill down to the key business elements of that information and make faster decisions. And of course, I truly try to enjoy every minute of my life. I can never understand why anyone wouldn't.

If you're in business or politics, you need to have an intense understanding of what's going on around you.

Sport doesn't work on knee-jerk reactions.

My IQ for the game is very high. I think that will help me out a lot.

I can play poker when I have to and I think it has made me a better fighter.

A lot of guys have tons of talent, but it boils down to the mental side of things. Preparing and knowing your offense and studying the defense. Being able to read and react quickly. The mental side is often overlooked.

In a sprint you make 100 decisions a second. What if X goes now and Y goes then? Should I take this gap or that one? You have to be sharp. Over time it becomes instinct.

I let the game come to me. I just try to read plays. I don't like taking bad shots. I want the best shot for the team.

I'm no dummy. I have a good sense of the business end of this game.

Chess is a matter of delicate judgement, knowing when to punch and how to duck.

I started playing chess when I was about 4 or 5 years old. It is very good for children to learn to play chess, because it helps them to develop their mental abilities. It also helps to consolidate a person's character, because as it happens both in life and in a chess game we have to make decisions constantly. In chess there is no luck and no excuses: everything is in your hands.

Every good mathematician should also be a good chess player and vice versa.

I play chess about four hours a day in training camp. You have to decide what move to use, or what combination of moves. I think less when I box because the reaction time is a lot quicker, but some people call me the chess boxer because they say I think too much in the ring. I take my time and they don't see the action they want. Some boxers just go in there and just throw punches and hope to win.

Writing is sort of like chess for me. You have to think carefully before you move, thinking, planning.

Time and again, players lose because they make rash decisions. Therefore, you always have to remind yourself - don't hurry. Embarking on a risky combination that cannot be calculated to the end is certainly not the right thing to do.

Life is very much about making the best decisions you can. So I think chess is very valuable.

I believe coming in early to the UFC gives me an advantage. More time to learn, more time to be in the UFC and get better as a fighter.

As a competitor, you want to get on the field as soon as you can. But you want to do best for your team, your career and everything. That's not up me to decide.

The most important 6 inches on the battlefield is between your ears.

Decisions need to be made in milliseconds out on the field, and you need to almost know what the other guy is thinking and exactly what he's going to do.

The more mental strength you have, the better. If you look at some of the best players that we have seen over the years and that I have been playing with, mentally they are the best competitors as well, something I have worked hard on.

Training is not the key. Head is the key. For me, it's head. How aggressive you will be. Who will attack first? But you need to be good in your head, and there will be no problem.

That's what Dominick Cruz does. He wins decisions and he has that down to a science. He's great at it.