Jimi Manuwa Quotes

You can wish as hard as you like but all that really matters is the shape you're in on the day of the race. I've always felt these really big races aren't necessarily won by whoever is the fastest. They're won by the athlete who is the smartest and in the best shape on the day.

Before the decathlon I'm constantly trying to convince myself that I want to do this, that I want to take myself to that place where it's going to hurt and things are going to be tough. But that's like anything - you want to give your best.

During my first Olympics in 1980, at the age of 23, I was physically in great condition but mentally too inexperienced to cope comfortably in the pressure cooker of an Olympic year.

You have 20 fights, you should know what it takes to get yourself ready. If you don't feel like you're ready, you let your coach know 'hey we need to work on a little bit more of this.'

I train for whatever happens. I'm prepared for wherever the fight goes.

Every fight, I train for the opponent very hard and smart.

The cut made me hate the process of getting ready for a fight. I was focused on how to make weight instead of how to beat my opponent.

The tennis calendar is incredibly long, so it's normal to go through ups and downs, and you want to keep the ups as long as possible and the downs as short as possible. You have to be realistic with what you're doing.

Many athletes are seeking new and novel ways of pushing their limits, and the challenge of running back-to-back races is certainly one way to test the boundaries.

An Olympic pursuit really takes a full three to four years of Olympic preparation.

When I am totally race fit, I don't worry about breathing or technique - they take care of themselves.

It's not just the physical aspect of boxing, it's the whole fighter mentality that has been ingrained in me through the years as a competitive athlete. One of the hardest things you'll ever do is to box - to get into the ring and to face off with somebody whose whole goal is to knock you out, to hurt you, and to be able to fight back.

To win Grand Slams you have to be in the right frame of mind, the right physical shape.

You have to be that 1 percent or 2 percent better physically so you have more power and energy left than your opponent when you go to a third set.

Success in sport is based on you thinking you are doing something to gain that edge, but if I wanted that little bit extra, I would go and run up sand dunes at Merthyr Mawr.

People turn professional and they are not running as fast as they did in college because it is a lot different, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't have that kind of transition and always stayed on top.

My next fight is always the most important fight, so regardless if I'm fighting for the title or not, I always have to go in there and give everything that I've got.

My first few years in the league, I was relying on my athleticism to get me by, because that's what got me to the NBA. The problem with that is, you end up getting really, really tired by February.

The day I step in the cage with Cyborg, I will be 100% prepared.

I have never been ready 100% even when I was racing in my gold times.

I'm always impressed by how fighters can compartmentalize their lives before big fights.

I think the reason I hadn't fought was just the aftermath of the Botha fight. You put so much into a fight, and people just talk about it like it was a bit of a farce or something.

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.

People only see two hours of a tennis match where you're fighting and running and sometimes getting upset. There's a lot more than those two hours. Going out there and playing is actually the easy part.

In spring training, I just try to spread everything out so I can be 100 percent before the season starts. I don't want to start feeling like I don't get it once the season starts. I want to be 100 percent on Opening Day.