Quotes from Jordan Burroughs

I wanted to be amongst the greats. I wanted to be a Simone Biles, a Michael Phelps, an Ashton Eaton. I wanted to be those guys.

It's one thing to never accomplish anything. You start from the bottom, you remain at the bottom, and all you know is the bottom. When you start at the bottom and you get to the top, and you feel the success and the notoriety and the recognition from being the champion, and you go back to losing, that's a tough place to be in.

If I do consider fighting, it won't be until after the Olympic games in 2020, and then from there I'll reevaluate, see if it's something that would be a realistic option for me.

Every single time I get on the mat, every tournament, I get to see what I'm made of, how tough I am, where my desire is, and how hard I've worked.

The difference between the greats and the legends is their ability to focus for longer periods of time.

There was a time period where I was obsessed with the rivalry between the Lakers and the Celtics in the 1980s.

I love legends. I love reading up on the greats in their time period. I think, 'Man, what it would be like to live when they were competing and see them at their best!'

I have high expectations for myself - as an athlete, as a man, as an individual - and wrestling has helped me build a lot of character knowing that I have to remain humble but also fight complacency.

The worst thing for me would be going back to where I was - relative obscurity.

It's never too late to be great.

There's a pride in representing your country on a stage like the sport of wrestling, which I've done since I was five years old. There's nothing that can deter me other than my own decision to leave the sport.

A lot of kids can't identify with the things I've done and where I'm from and who I am as an individual. That's why I've tried to be a person and live my life in a way that can be identified by all cultures.

I think a lot of guys get out of wrestling for financial incentive to go to the UFC, but I'm doing well.

If I wrestle in 2020, I want it to be my own decision and not the IOC's.

For Americans, of course, it's football, basketball, and baseball. We live for it. In many ways, it sums up who we are. In Iran, it's all about wrestling. The patriotism toward their country comes out in the way they wrestle, so it makes sense why they're the best.

Every person I wrestle, it's the biggest match of their career. They're Buster Douglas. But what's the honor in being Mike Tyson and beating Buster Douglas? I win and move on. They win, and it's a game-changer for the rest of their lives.

John Smith from Oklahoma State was the greatest American wrestler of all time.

Within the realm of wrestling, it's been the same every year - just continually trying to improve and evolve as a wrestler, putting myself in a position to not maintain but maximize my potential.

I think that Ben Askren, when he competed as a wrestler, he was an amazing athlete.

As wrestlers, we're not trying to hurt or damage physically our opponent. All we're trying to do is score points and get our hands raised, so I think that's where we differ from the UFC, but I think that also the way in which we could address each other could be cool from a competitive spirit.

I just want one fight. Because, like, for me, it's not about the status, not about the glory. It's not about the money. Like, I just want to throw my hands and see what I'm made of. And I think that wrestlers and fighters have that same fighting spirit.

You watch Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather fight, Floyd can just throw a few punches, or he can do a lot of defense; he can slip a few punches, let Conor get a few shots in. You can't really do that in wrestling without getting scored on or putting yourself at risk.

If you come from Jersey, you're tough. You've been through the grind.

You know what's cooler than being the richest guy in the room? Being the toughest guy in the room.