Aljamain Sterling

“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'm about fighting the best guys.”

“Do you think the UFC is going to owe you a favor when you step up on short notice when nobody else is doing it? There's a reason a whole bunch of us aren't doing it. If you want to be that scapegoat, and think that the UFC's going to owe you one, good luck with that. Let me know how that goes.”

“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.”

“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.”

“You show your teeth more when you show what you're made of and your heart.”

“Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of being paid like NBA, NFL and soccer and baseball athletes. They have that cushion where they can kind of hang out. Even the guys on the bench. But for us, we don't fight, we don't get paid and that's the scary reality to it all.”

“It's the fight game. I'm ready for everything.”

“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.”

“I'm not about trying to hand pick my fights and tip toe around the competition.”

“At the end of the day, Cejudo's a tough competitor but I think he's a flyweight.”

“You can't keep a star from shining and my star's going to shine bright.”

“I like to put my money where my mouth is and go out there and perform and do what I gotta do.”

“You change the mind and world of one individual and that's huge, man. You reach one person and that starts a spiral effect and starts to snowball. I think that's the one thing as an athlete we should all focus on doing and that's striving to give back in a positive manner.”

“I've had negative experiences with cops. I've had positive experiences with cops.”

“You might be an elite-level athlete in the room, but if no one gets to see you display your craft it doesn't matter.”

“You just take your hits on the chin and move on, that's life.”

“People can forget about you so quickly and that's not what I want. I want to keep people talking because at the end of the day that's what is going to get you paid. People have to want to care to watch you fight and you have to be relevant.”

“Whether it's Bellator, OneFC, World Series, whatever, the door's open for me. Financial stability is the most important thing for me.”

“I never wish ill will saying 'I wish this guy won or this guy lost.' I really don't care. The best guy, let them have their night.”