Before I fought Adonis Stevenson in 2013, I had 4lbs to shift in a morning before weighing in. I had zero energy left to train, so the nutritional adviser said the only way was to drag it from my body in a hot bath full of salts.
You know how a fighter always comes into the dressing room way before a fight? That's me - I'm like a fighter.
Some of my fights in PRIDE, I felt tired. I would train on the punching bag and feel great but then get tired in my fights.
Fights aren't won in the octagon, they're won in the months leading up to them, in a near-empty gym, in the lost hours of a day, whether I feel like it or not.
Of course every fighter, whether they admit it or not, they have aches and pains and they go into fights hurt.
I expect a tough, hard fight. Liam Smith is coming to win.
After a weigh-in, you drink and put on the pounds. But it's just fluid, not muscle, so you get in the ring and feel flat.
In the lead-up to fights, I'm very relaxed, very calm.
It was tough to make weight against Cerrone, and I passed out three times making weight for the Eddie Alvarez fight. One day you get to the limit.
For girls it raises your testosterone, so I try to have as much sex as possible before I fight.
In the fight with Hunt, all I can say is it was a good night for me. I'm happy to get out of there without taking too much damage, and I'd take that every time.
Going into the UFC debut, you have to wonder what's going on, what's the workout going to be like. It's just an honor to be at an open workout.
The last week before a fight always goes really slow.
The more fights I have the more relaxed I get in cage or ring. It's all about experience. It's something that I try to do because I fight better when I am relaxed.
Every fight day, I just stay in my room the entire day, and I just stay in bed. I sleep as late as I can, which usually isn't very late; I'm kind of an early riser. But I try to just stay there in bed. I don't usually eat the day of the fight. I don't eat until after the fight.
Ultimately, when two professionals meet, I don't really see the location as being a defining factor. If you're a psychologically weak fighter, maybe it would be. But if you're a seasoned pro, it doesn't really come into it.
