I've been fighting in the UFC for five years now and it's about time I'm headlining a card.
Any fighter fighting in the UFC would take the opportunity to take a fight against a YouTuber and stand to make several million dollars.
I would love to box Dillon Danis. But do the fans want to see me box Dillon? Does Dillon put people in seats?
Obviously, CM Punk is a really big draw for the UFC. He's going to bring a lot of eyes to the UFC, and the better he does, the better it'll be for all MMA fighters as far as sponsorships and stuff.
Michael Bisping versus Georges St-Pierre is a money fight, and the UFC loves money fights.
We've seen smaller guys in main event fights, and they do well. It just takes the right combination of people I think. I think Dominick Cruz v. T.J. Dillashaw could have main-evented a PPV and done pretty good.
Bellator offered me a job. UFC never offered me an opportunity to fight. There's no question that UFC is the top. It's a machine. A lot of people, including myself, have helped build the UFC to where it is today.
It is amazing to have the UFC to come here to Perth... it is great for Australian Mixed Martial Arts and great for the sport, and it is going to be great for Perth to have such a world-wide event, through pay-per-view, hosted here.
Any of my previous fights before the UFC and 'the Ultimate Fighter' were all main events and co-main events.
I don't follow the UFC as closely as some of my peers do. Obviously, Conor McGregor is a super talented guy. He is the best at what he does; he's a huge personality.
The UFC are promoting a lot of cards and there are a lot of fights that people even don't know that will happen. But Wanderlei Silva vs. Dan Henderson would sell very well.
People learn. If you market somebody, let's say GSP, a lot of people were saying he was doing boring fights because he was taking the guys down and controlling them, but he was winning, and he was the guy who selling the most.
UFC is a moneymaking machine. The most important thing for this organization is a brand and its marketing. They have a couple of good fighters, and there are also some very good champions, but they are trying to keep everyone at the same level. The most important thing for them is the promotion, not the fighters.
Look at my track record for showing up to fights. Look at my track record of finishing fights. Look at my track record of getting fight night bonuses. Ask yourself if you think that if the UFC decided to truly put marketing dollars behind me that they couldn't sell me or my fights.
The first time I saw a commercial for my fight was UFC 210.
I've told the UFC brass I want big fights: fights that are going to put money in their pockets and money in my pockets and staple me as one of the best of all-time.
I know why the UFC runs the business the way they do. I know why Conor McGregor makes a base pay of $3 million. But I think I justify my pay with my skill set, and I've always been willing to promote my brand.
Luke Rockhold would be a good payday.
It would be great to fight on UFC 200 obviously. It's going to be an historic event but the card is getting full quickly.
There's something about somebody who does something special in the UFC that they're allotted certain freedoms and wiggle room around the rules. I'm just not in that category. So if I want to fight Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz or Nate Diaz, then it's all the hooplah and all the talk about it.
I think a lot of people miss what I've done in the MMA world. How I was able to market and control the industry so that people wanted to watch my fights. If you look at the fights I've been involved in - in the SEG UFC, in Japan, for Zuffa and today, they have been fights that have turned companies around.
Obviously I'd love to see Demetrious Johnson, you know, 'Demetrious Johnson $500,000 payout baby,' absolutely.
