"I'm not the best. I just believe I can do things other people think are impossible."
- Anderson Silva
Belief in Self
"Fear freezes your actions because it takes you into the world of what-if, and that’s the worst place anybody can be. This is when you start doing stupid things like predicting the future, or thinking your career as a mixed martial arts world champion is going to end suddenly. Forecasting doom and gloom is not only useless, but detrimental. It’s giving away all your power to fear and letting it take over your life."
- Georges St-Pierre
Overcoming Obstacles
"Fear is the genesis of most of the good things that have occurred in my life. Fear is the beginning of every success I’ve lived."
- Georges St-Pierre
Courage
"It takes fear to make a person courageous. And I like that, because courage says something about you. The result is that, after a while, you get practice at being courageous. You understand how to move forward against fear, how to react in certain situations. You just get better. It doesn’t mean you stop feeling fear—that would be careless—but it means you have earned the right to feel confidence in the battle against fear."
- Georges St-Pierre
Courage
"You don't get better on the days when you feel like going. You get better on the days when you don't want to go, but you go anyway."
- Georges St-Pierre
Determination
"The real test is this one: When you're alone in a room, when you're in a private place and nobody else can see you, what do you choose to do? Eat well, or eat poorly? Exercise, or watch television? Practice something, or do nothing? The best version of the truth appears to you and you alone, when nobody else can see. This is the test of discipline, and it's what makes the difference in your life. It's what regulates your own system and guides it. The individual alone comprehends it."
- Georges St-Pierre
Self-awareness
"When you have butterflies and you’re feeling anxious and you have anxiety or are nervous, that’s when you’re most powerful... A lot of people, instead of honing this power and using it, they allow it to just consume them. There’s another quote that says, ‘A big challenge, a big pressure is like a fire, it’s like a raging fire. Either you can allow this fire to consume you and just take you over completely, or you can gain control of this fire and harness it and you blow it right at your opponent, Dragonball Z style.’ That’s what I’m trying to do, trying to get my emotions under control and use this adrenaline to my advantage."
- Jon Jones
Facing Fears
"It’s going to feel good to reach that first plateau, and what happens is that the second plateau is even easier to reach, and more gratifying. Performance improves. Results are tangible. Your mind and your body feel better and are finally working in harmony. In other words, when you prepare a list of improvements and you make them small and achievable, you won’t just stick to them, you’ll increase the chances that you’ll keep going forward."
- Georges St-Pierre
Personal Growth
"I've been blessed; I've been getting so many amazing opportunities because of the UFC. I know there are going to be haters no matter how successful I am, and I just have to be thankful for all the blessings that I have because all of it can be over before you know it."
- Paige VanZant
Gratitude
"If I could have had everything exactly the way I wanted, this is how I would have written it down. Win all my fights in the first round, then go to the UFC and headline a show, and have it as a pay-per-view and at home. People's dreams don't come true like that."
- Ronda Rousey
Aspirations
"You know what the true definition of hell is? It's when you die, you get to meet the person you could have been."
- Frank Mir
Reflection
"When you pay attention to detail, the big picture will take care of itself."
- Georges St-Pierre
Focus
"Very often, we see leaders lose sight of how they got to where they are: by being and thinking differently from the competition. They make it to first place, and then their thinking changes from seeking innovation to seeking the status quo. They think, I made it to first place, so now I must not change a thing. But change is what got them to the top in the first place! This is because they’re focused on the positive result rather than on the process of success."
- Georges St-Pierre
Change
"You can’t simply enter [the octagon] and beat someone on instinct; you can’t go in with the same approach over and over because it worked last time."
- Georges St-Pierre
Adaptation
"Mediocrity is not about failing, and it’s the opposite of doing. Mediocrity, in other words, is about not trying."
- Georges St-Pierre
Motivation
"I’ve come up with my own cure for a closed mind: try it once, and see."
- Georges St-Pierre
Self-improvement
"I only want to be known as the best ever. Is that too much to ask?"
- BJ Penn
Ambition
"If you haven't lost in this sport, you haven't fought the right guys yet."
- Matt Hughes
Perseverance
"If you find ways of staying in the present, fear can only help you."
- Georges St-Pierre
Mindfulness
"The first is just take a look around and remind yourself of where you are right now, and how everything is okay in this place. This doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns about the future—I knew, for example, that I’d need surgery at some point—but it wasn’t the key thing right at that moment. Right at that moment the key was to take a deep breath."
- Georges St-Pierre
Presence
"One of the most important things I do in between rounds is breathe deeply and slowly so I can relax."
- Georges St-Pierre
Self-care
"Don’t get me wrong: fear can be a good thing, and there is no way you can eliminate it from your life. In fact, eliminating fear from your life is a lie, or it’s a mental illness. That’s it, nothing more. Anyone who says they don’t feel fear is a liar. Guys who say they don’t feel fear are full of shit or they’re plain crazy. Major denial issues."
- Georges St-Pierre
Honesty
"Sometimes you don’t need to decide right then there what’s going to happen. You need to understand that the world keeps turning and nobody needs to rush into any harsh decision or situation. It’s okay to do nothing sometimes."
- Georges St-Pierre
Reflection
"The goal is to reflect calmly about all the facts, and to make a decision when the timing is right. That timing is very individual."
- Georges St-Pierre
Wisdom
"When you lose, say little. When you win, say less."
- Matt Hughes
Wisdom
"I'm very glad you won that fight Matt, but I'm not impressed by your performance."
- Georges St-Pierre
Honesty
"You tell Anderson Silva I’m coming over. I’m kicking in his back door and I’m pattin’ his old lady on the ass and I’m telling her to make me a steak, medium rare just how I like it."
- Chael Sonnen
Boldness
"Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you a humble champion and still the toughest SOB around baby."
- Brock Lesnar
Strength
"Not bad for an old man."
- Randy Couture
Resilience
"He said in case of winning, he will spend two years staring through the window, but he must also have one thing on his mind in case he lost the fight — if I'm going to be lucky and throw a high kick he might stare through the windows for two years, too with a nurse on his left side."
- Mirko Cro Cop
Bravery
"You're not even training are you Frenchy? You know what I mean. Drink your red wine, go to your hockey game and shut the f—k up."
- Matt Serra
Motivation
"You can make a mistake and get caught in a submission, but Chuck made a mistake and he got caught in an ass whoopin'."
- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Boldness
"~Have NO fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with YOU, therefore NO harm can befall YOU; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence~"
- John Paul II
Faith
"This is a press conference, Jorge. I know it's your first time involved in something like this. Welcome to the big leagues. After this, you'll be back to the undercard believe me."
- Michael Bisping
Boldness
"I hope to God you come ready, because if you don't I'm going to beat you into a living death."
- Ken Shamrock
Determination
"Anderson Silva — you absolutely suck!"
- Chael Sonnen
Boldness
"We have a saying back home that if you're coming on — come on!"
- Harold Howard
Bravery
"I threw a spinning back fist or something and he'd tell me 'so we're throwing spinning s—t now?"
- Carlos Condit
Creativity
"You're a male nurse bro. I'm gonna f—k you up in about two minutes."
- Josh Koscheck
Boldness
"I hope so motherf—ker if I had that much money I'd be f—king pampering myself the f—k up. I'd be having motherf—kers pampering my s—t left and f—king right. There would be motherf—kers every hour on the hour showing up to pamper me out"
- Nick Diaz
Ambition
"Yes!!"
- Diego Sanchez
Motivation