I had to learn to toughen up and fend for myself. You'd think when you have a lot of brothers and sisters, they'd come to your aid and rescue you a lot of times, but for us it wasn't really like that. It was tough love.

If you go into a negotiating room and are like, 'Well I was on the same card as Conor McGregor, so maybe I should get a little bit more money,' they'll probably just look at you like, 'What? In what universe does that even make sense?' So I don't see how anyone could possibly think it's going to be a trickle-down effect.

It doesn't bother me to have people looking up to me, because I don't think I say anything too crazy or over the top where people can't look at me as a role model.

I've been the captain of my wrestling team, my college team, so to me, I've been in that leadership role for a very long time.

I'm from a family of 20, so I'm one of the oldest guys, I grew up a lot having my brothers and sisters walk with me to school when I had to be the guy to watch them and all these things, so I kinda learned how to develop those leadership skills at a very early age.

I'm in this sport to change my life. I'm in this sport to change my parents' lives and the loved ones around me. That's really what I care about. And I can't do that if they keep putting me on these prelims.

If you're a UFC guy, if you're a company guy, if the company likes you, they're gonna do the right thing, in terms of promoting you. They're gonna promote who they want, they're not going to promote the people they think can't get to that next level and can't help bring the company a lot more money and bring them into other avenues.

I got a different persona than a lot of these other guys.

I almost want to ask the judges, 'If you don't count leg kicks, if you don't count body kicks, why not?' So if you don't think they're effective in the scoring criteria, they're not effective striking, effective grappling, so how about I kick you in the body, I kick you in the leg, and you tell me how that feels?

At the end of the day, when you get a sponsor, it's a working relationship. So anyone I get involved with, I want it to be a working relationship where I'm generally trying to help them and they're generally trying to help me.

If you're a top 10 guy you should pay a top 10 guy or even a top 5 guy what he deserves, whether it's a lightweight or a heavyweight.

Ideally, I want to get out of the sport at least when I'm 30-31. I don't want to be one of those guys who stays around too long, so I want to get as many fights in as I can.

If you don't stick out then how do you expect to be remembered? I want to be one of those guys who is actually remembered.

I think they need to start doing cageside weigh-ins again. I think that's the best way to go if you really want to see some difference. Cageside weigh-ins; I guarantee you won't see people cutting more than five to eight pounds, and they'll be fighting closer to their natural weight class.

Every time you step in there with a guy who is not ranked where you're at, it's always a big stepping stone for them - if they're able to get the job done.

I know some people count me out, but that's the one thing about myself, I never count myself out.

It's interesting to see all these guys keep calling me out after they win. I don't know whether it's a slap in the face or just respect. I don't know. I have no idea. I can't tell what to make of it.

I think flyweight has always been exciting.

If you don't know what the hell the martial arts are, why are you a judge?

I realize judges don't understand what the hell kicks are doing.

At the end of the day, I know I'm not Superman.

I mean, I've had fights with random guys, I drove to fights by myself cutting weight, no corners whatsoever. So I've had a very interesting MMA journey.

I tell myself, 'You're too fast, you're too strong, you're too quick. You can't be broken, you can't be beat. If you can't be broken, you can't be beat.' And I just beat it into my head.

Being an All-Star is everything.

I believe that whatever we have, regardless of a trade being done or not, I feel we have a shot. I've just got to believe that we're going to be all right. I've got to just play basketball.

I don't care. I feel like if we don't make a trade, we have to get it done with what we've got.

I don't want to just go to the playoffs, I don't want to go to the playoffs and win the first round, second round, and not win the whole thing because it's bittersweet.

I owe all of this to the guys I've played with and all the coaches that have helped me get to where I'm at right now. I'm honored to be here.

If I don't believe it, then they don't need me on the court. I've just got to believe that in my heart.

If that many people recognize how hard I go every night and what I put into my game, to make myself and my team better, it means a lot to me. I'm fortunate; I'm blessed to be in the situation that I'm in right now.

Personally I just want to win a championship.

This is like a tribute to them, the people who helped me to get here. The thing that makes me feel good about the whole thing is, the fans voted me here.

This is the thing you dream about when you're a kid, even before getting into the league.

We should because when coaches get fired, the players have a lot to do with it.

I had a lot of growing up to do. A lot of times, I learned the hard way.

When you lose, there is a whole bunch of room for negativity and I don't feed into this stuff and I do not do any talking. I don't run my mouth.

He's helped me do so much in my career, helped me be the player that I am. If there's no Larry Brown, then there's no MVP, Allen Iverson.

When you win, everything is everything. But when you lose, it's all about Allen Iverson and Larry Brown. When we win, I know that I get the praise and Larry Brown gets the praise, but when we lose, it's on me and Larry Brown. That's something that I have to learn to accept and deal with.

Man, people have been waiting for me to fall off my whole career. From the first time I stepped on the court. It probably made people sick to their stomachs watching my whole career, watching the things that I've done in my career.

I love my fans in Philadelphia, but this is the hardest place in the world to play in. And I think it's the hardest place to play in to be a superstar. Just to be the No. 1 guy. All eyes on you - because everybody wants you to be perfect, but not themselves.

When you are not practicing, someone else is getting better.

Man, I'm 31 years old and a husband with four kids; I hope I'm no thug. I hear all those negative things and don't hear anything positive. I think that's all those people feel... that way that's all they hear about when you hear Allen Iverson did something negative or something.

I gave everything I had to basketball. The passion is still there, but the desire to play is not. It was a great ride.

I may not know everything about physical talent or anything like that, but I have a sharp mind when it comes to that look: being able to look into somebody's eyes to tell if they are going to be in the foxhole with you tonight, or if they are not.

I don't watch college basketball.

Me and my family are straight. I am blessed. I am alive, man, and I am healthy, and that is the only thing that matters. Me and my family, everybody else, it really doesn't matter because why do you care about somebody talking negative about you if they don't know you?

I am sick of defending myself, and I am not going to keep on doing it.

You think I can be the MVP without practicing?

I wasn't afraid to be who I am. I didn't think anything was wrong with it.

I dressed like the guys who I grew up with. I looked like the guys I grew up with.