In MMA it’s a lot less intimidating because it’s not like you get one shot at a title every four years. You get a title shot every couple of months ... With the Olympics, you don’t always have this, so there is so much more pressure involved.

The thing that gets me up in the morning is that I’m really not ready to see someone that I know I can beat holding my belt.

Look at my face. Does it look like I can take a good hit?

Even though I was painted, even though I had on seven layers of paint - to the point that I got a tan, it was as thick as a fabric - I think I felt the most naked because I couldn't cover myself at all. I didn't have to, so I had to be much more open and relaxed.

That's why I love fighting, because I get to have a big battle every couple months to make up for the little battles I have to forfeit every day

Life is a fight from the minute you take your first breath to the moment you exhale your last.

Easy lives make boring people and things have definitely not been easy.