Quotes from Aljamain Sterling

It's all about brand exposure, building your brand, building your image and just getting to that next level as an athlete.

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

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.

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.

I don't want to be resentful to the sport. I want to be able to leave the sport on a high note.

Even when I teach my MMA classes in the gym, it's hard to teach what I do. It's more of state of flow, a state of feel. It's not a robotic thing like one, two, three, kick, one, two, three, switch, jab, cross. It's completely unorthodox. Everything is about rhythm, tempo and pace. It's a different style, man.

Obviously, I rep Jamaica. I'm a first generation born Jamaican-American. My parents are born and raised in Jamaica, my grandparents are born and raised in Jamaica, my other family still lives in Jamaica, and I still go back there.

Every time you step in there with a guy who is not ranked where you're at, it's always a big stepping stone for them - if they're able to get the job done.

I like to think I defied the odds my entire life, definitely my entire athletic career.

At the end of the day, I feel like I've never had an easy break in terms of opponents.

I'm from a family of 20, so I'm one of the oldest guys, I grew up a lot having my brothers and sisters walk with me to school when I had to be the guy to watch them and all these things, so I kinda learned how to develop those leadership skills at a very early age.

I've been the captain of my wrestling team, my college team, so to me, I've been in that leadership role for a very long time.

A lot of guys man, they are dull and dry.

You go out there and say I fight for the UFC, people know exactly what that is.

I'm in this sport to change my life. I'm in this sport to change my parents' lives and the loved ones around me. That's really what I care about. And I can't do that if they keep putting me on these prelims.

If you don't know what the hell the martial arts are, why are you a judge?