So far, I don't know what it means to be the champion. I'm just glad I have the belt.
I went through UFC with five title defenses. Jonny 'Bones' Jones beat my record, so I'm trying to beat his record. That's my goal. That's what I want to do.
Winning the belt is one thing. But you're not really a champion until you defend it.
Once I've got that world title I'll never want to lose it. I'll fight tooth and nail to keep it.
It took me 10 fights to get the damn interim title shot and then 11 to get an undisputed shot.
I won 11 titles but yeah, no Slam. Am I proud? Yes. Am I also disappointed? Yes. But a couple of times I was unlucky.
I'm definitely an active champion. I'm looking forward to defending my belt as many times as possible.
The big guys choose who they want to fight and they think about history: 'how many times I defended my title.' They try to break a record: 'how long I was there.' But if you look at the pedigree, who they fought, ain't nobody gonna give them credit for it because they fought a lot of people with no experience.
After you win all these belts, you cannot fight all these mandatory guys.
To defend - it is very difficult to win two titles in a row.
I don't want to become world champion and lose it immediately. I want to become world champion, take over the division and take it from there.
Lord knows we've been guilty of getting too excited about a title reign only to see it last one or two fights.
Yeah, the record for most titles was previously held by the Fabulous Moolah, she won it four times. And a few weeks ago, I won the title for the sixth time, which has never been done before.
The best part about being a champion is going out and defending your belt, so that's what I plan on doing and doing it many times.
Back-to-back Presidents' Trophies, I don't think that happens too often.
I don't care about being the champ champ. I want to be the only consecutive 12-time defending champion in any mixed martial arts promotion.
I think 15 to 18 title defenses is something that would be in the record books forever.
For every champion, after you win the belt, you want to defend it as many times as possible.
In sports, you simply aren't considered a real champion until you have defended your title successfully. Winning it once can be a fluke; winning it twice proves you are the best.
I don't think we can fully understand just how much pressure is on these fighters' shoulders once they win the UFC title. It's a grind just to get to the title fight. You're not earning a lot of money, and the sport takes a real toll on your body. And then once you get the belt, you've got an army of fighters coming for you right away.
