It's great that mixed martial arts allows people to still be in touch with their animal side and duke it out in a cage, but I think it's important: we're still nurturing beings, and we should still have compassion for each other.

My hands look like my dad's and my mom's put together. She's a piano player, he was an artist, and I use the creative qualities I got from them in my fighting. But I don't just destroy with my hands; I also create: I cook and make art and garden.

I was kind of a loner growing up.

I've always been like, if society's trying to push me in one direction, I always rebel against it, thinking, 'Nope, I'm going to do the opposite, something that is not expected.'

I definitely get down on myself. I needed to work on my self-talk. The same way you do footwork drills and cardio training, I had to do self-talk training.

I guess I'm crazy. If everything was easy-peasy and green lights all the time, it'd be kind of boring.

Some of the things I've had to overcome in my past, fighting helped me deal with a lot of struggles. Obstacles in life don't make you a great fighter, but fighting - or, I should say, martial arts - helps you overcome your obstacles.

I thrive on chaos and difficult situations. I guess that's who I am.

I feel like we have a duty as fighters to try and be a better example.

From my perspective, if I say that I'm done, I would hope - and I trust - that my corner would throw in the towel for me.

Fighting helped me learn that I can't let my emotions take over.

I love spoiling a party. I love it when someone is on a roll and just messin' that up.

I come from a place of lots of turmoil.

I'm like a tree. My leaves might change color, but my roots are the same.

If I'm not fighting for a good reason, then your personal life starts to get messy, and it's like, 'What am I doing this for?'

All I can control is myself and just keep having a positive attitude.

Always try to reinvent myself; never try to stay the same person, because that's how people figure you out.

You just keep a positive attitude no matter what comes in your way - challenges, roadblocks - don't let it faze you, and you can overcome anything.

All the scars on my body, all the bumps and bruises, all the muscles - that is a story of everything I have done. And it's not just my story. My ancestors who came before me gave me this vessel to sculpt and mold.

2016 was really challenging for me. I don't know what it was.

I'm successful every day because I look in the mirror, and I'm happy with who I am.

I've always felt that I was a star. I always knew that I am a star.

It takes a lot of courage in that cage no matter who you are.

I don't think anybody is perfect.

I didn't need the belt to validate me.

I think that I can speak in front of the camera. I think my fighting ability can speak for itself as well.

There's pros and cons to everything, and I choose to look at the positives.

I'm the all-around threat. I've got the look; I think I've got the whole package.

I think there's a lot of mental instability in this whole country.

We're not just fighters, we're entertainers.

Me being the best in the world, it doesn't mean that much to me if I'm not a good person at the end of the day, if I'm not setting a good example for other people to be better to each other.

In order to survive, I created a certain type of aura about myself that I was the baddest chick walking down the street. Anytime somebody underestimates me, Thug Rose comes out.

I'm just here to show up and fight and then get my money and go home.

I just wish there were a little more peace in the world.

We need the villain sometimes. It makes for an interesting story.

I had to really create a positive atmosphere for myself, and that has to come from within.

I want to encourage people to be nicer to each other, to be nicer to themselves.

I'm glad I went through the 'TUF' experience.

My hands look like my dad's and my mom's put together. She's a piano player, he was an artist, and I use the creative qualities I got from them in my fighting. But I don't just destroy with my hands; I also create: I cook and make art and garden.

I grew up with lots of anger, frustration, and violence in my heart.

I've always been like, if society's trying to push me in one direction, I always rebel against it, thinking, 'Nope, I'm going to do the opposite, something that is not expected.'

I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt myself.

I guess I'm crazy. If everything was easy-peasy and green lights all the time, it'd be kind of boring.

Every fight is dangerous, no matter who you're fighting, no matter what the story behind it is.

I thrive on chaos and difficult situations. I guess that's who I am.

I'm just a very impatient person. It's always something that I'm working on, and just staying interested in the fight game is the biggest challenge for me. As long as I'm interested and I have an incentive to stay interested, then I'm unbeatable.

From my perspective, if I say that I'm done, I would hope - and I trust - that my corner would throw in the towel for me.

It's all about me, no matter who I'm fighting.

I love spoiling a party. I love it when someone is on a roll and just messin' that up.

There's a lot around us that we can't control, but my body, my mind, and my soul are pretty much the only things that I can.