I had been thinking, 'I've got to win because I'm Olympic champion'; actually, no, it's, 'I'm an Olympic champion for life,' I can just enjoy the rest.
I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm at now.
I'm a butcher champ, I don't care what I eat, I don't care what I cut, I just want to get cutting.
Nick Diaz is a champion so he's got the spirit that comes with it. So he's not going to give up mentally. You see a lot of guys give up mentally and that's why they get knocked out or submitted. They give up mentally before they lose.
People try to live vicariously through fighters, but it's one-on-one; it's primal. There's no other feeling like it. The problem for me was accepting it - that nothing compares to being champ.
To be a champ you have to believe in yourself when no one else will.
