It's about being able to go through the grind, willing to get back up when you're knocked down. And when life's not going well, not getting down on yourself and just getting back up and getting back to work, and striving to be the best you can be.
You really can't worry about stuff you can't control... You need to focus on getting where you need to be and not worry about what could have been and what should have been.
I don't need to do all the trash talking. I try to do it with my fists, my knees, and my feet.
Even in the losses, I always saw glimpses of something that kept me going.
I've been through a lot of ups and downs. Just willing to get back up and grind every day to try and get better.
It's all about getting better and controlling the things that you can control, which is getting better day to day.
I'm looking forward, that's all, I'm not looking backwards.
I just try to keep getting better every day, and that's all I can do.
I met Pat Militich when I was a junior in high school when I was 16 and just started training and went from there. I went to the same high school that Pat had attended and he would bring some of his fighters out to wrestling practice to work out and I got to know him that way. I immediately like it.
It's about falling down and getting back up.
I did a lot of smoker fights and fought pretty much every week since Pat wouldn't let me fight until he was sure I was ready. I was also boxing and so I had 30 unofficial fights or more of those.
It's all about... getting back up and getting back to work and striving to be the best you can be.
What I've learned from those losses... Priceless.
You don't really realize the effect those things have on you when you're growing up but then when you look back you can see how they molded you.
I did takwondo from the time I was pretty young and also played I did taekwondo for martial arts and then also played football, baseball, and basketball against older kids because of my brother being older. I learned pretty quickly to not be intimidated and to not back down.
I got a little bit of the Marine mentality from my dad, I guess. You can't but help absorb the culture you're around.
My parents were divorced and my dad was in the Marines. I lived in California until I was 10 then we moved to Bettendorf, Iowa when I was in the fourth grade. I had an older brother so it made it a little easier to adjust to things.
The sport in 2000 wasn't as big as it is now [in 2008].
Get back up when you're knocked down.
I just started training with the best fighters in the world trying to get better. I was a pretty good athlete so I did pretty well with the team and that gave me confidence that I would be able to compete with people.
I kept doing my own thing, working out with weights, wrestling, and doing other spots until I graduated from high school. Then I made a conscious decision to pursue MMA seriously and full time.
I remember coming across some DVDs of the UFC and so I started watching that and became a fan of it. It was a little boring because of all the grabbing and holding and I fast-forwarded through a lot of it, but I still watched because I like martial arts.
I also watched boxing all the time and Tuesday Night Fights on USA and just kept hitting my heavy back in the garage.
A lot of military kids make a lot of moves but I only made the one, so it wasn't really an issue for me.
I had never thought about being a professional fighter but meeting Pat [ Militich ] and the guys just pushed me in that direction.
