Opponent Selection Quotes

My coaches know when it's a big fight, I'm at the gym because if they give me some pretender, another actor, I might not take it.

I had to get up run in the morning for 2 hours, go to the gym and also get good opponents as sparring partners because I'm a big believer in that how you train is how you will fight at least when it came to me that's how it worked.

I don't ask to fight anybody. All I ask is to fight the best fighters in the world.

I want to fight the guys that are ranked above me, even though I don't care about rankings because they're just opinions anyway. Even if a guy is below me and wants to fight, I'll take the fight if it makes sense.

Anytime I've won a fight and asked for an opponent, I've usually gotten it, and that's because it's all well thought-out.

I play tennis non-obsessively. I seem to beat people I play a lot or half the time, so I guess I gravitate to people who are as bad as I am.

I'll fight anybody my trainer puts me in with because I'm confident I can beat any fighter in the world. If anybody can see I'm almost a master at evading punches coming at me.

Listen, I'm the champ, and I'm not going to pick and choose who I fight.

I don't pick and choose. I've never really had an qualms about who I fight next.

It's not news that I want to face Vitor Belfort or Chael Sonnen.

They say I don't fight guys unless they're on a respirator. That's incorrect. They have to be at least 3 days off a respirator.

I don't really pick my opponents.

If I can put the right guy with the right mouthpiece in front of the right opponents, we can build a champion, but he doesn't really have to beat the best guys; we just have to give him the right matchups.

I think if you are champ, you shouldn't choose your opponents.

Everywhere I go, I will make a good payday. But we got to choose the right opponent and the right time and the right venue.

I'm not running from anyone, I'm the champion and I can choose who I'm going to fight.

When you're up-and-coming in your career, yes, maybe you have to dodge certain guys. 'Hey, my wrestling isn't good yet, let me get it on-point and then I'll come back there,' or, 'I'm not going to fight that guy right now,' because whatever, when you're up-and-coming. But once you're already at the top of your game, you're in there, man. That's it.

I don't pick opponents. I don't care about who I'm going to fight.

I could definitely make 145. But if 'Cowboy' is going to 145, I'm going after somebody who matters.

I want these ranked opponents.

In poker, you want to play the weaker guys. In chess, it's the opposite.

I signed a contract to fight at UFC 187, so I'm going to fight at UFC 187, whoever it is against. It's the same thing.

I don't know who my three next opponents will be. A lot of people ask me that. You want to fight me? Earn it.

We shall choose our adversaries, not the other way around.

A lot of guys who I fought, they beat guys who were No. 1 contenders, and that's why I fought them.