Tyron Woodley

Growing up as a kid, in elementary and middle school, I was always getting in trouble. Always getting suspended. I got suspended for 90 days for fighting beginning my freshman year, so I missed Homecoming, and that's when I turned the page. I went on honor roll and had good grades after that. It was the changing point.

I don't say MMA fans are racist at all. What I said is that fans are opinionated, especially because we're the only professional sport to give them that access.

When someone's portraying something they're not to get underneath my skin, I'm just going to funnel that into a great strategy, and I'm going to try to get him out of there quick.

It's just comical how short-term people's memories are.

In the past, I said I didn't want to speak on certain issues because the second I said one thing about race, then 'Tyron's playing the race card.' But if you really think about it, what is the race card? The race card is that the man held me down, I had unfair circumstances, and I wasn't able to be successful because I was held down.

I guess you could say I fell into it. The main goal was to be successful and to make my family proud. Back then, MMA was just getting started, and there didn't seem to be a ton of rules. It seemed pretty brutal, and I was still pretty focused on wrestling. But I decided to give it a shot.

My end goal is not to break the record for cashing in the most. I want to be treated fair and what I feel is fair, but that's not my sole purpose; that's not my purpose.

Goal number one is to be the welterweight champion of the world, and I'm away from my family way too often. This is a sport where we can make cash now.

For me, I think you can coach guys in martial artsm, and wrestling can be one aspect of it, but I have no desire to be an NCAA wrestling coach again. It was one of the worst coaching jobs I have ever had.

My goal is to go out there and dominate. We all know if I'm in a position and I see my opponent hurt by landing good striking, I'm going to try to get him out of there. If I'm in the top position or in the position to finish by submission, I'm going to look for that. I don't feel the need to prove the haters wrong.

What is there not to market? I fight like hell. I'm built a certain way, never taken performance-enhancing drugs.

Fighting, especially at this level, is about getting through adversity. You position yourself mentally to go out and take on obstacles that stand in your way. In the Octagon and in life, you face tough situations and have every chance to quit, but the more adversity you push through, the more likely you are to be successful.