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 also watched boxing all the time and Tuesday Night Fights on USA and just kept hitting my heavy back in the garage.

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.

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 had never thought about being a professional fighter but meeting Pat [ Militich ] and the guys just pushed me in that direction.

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.

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.