Ben Askren

When I'm thinking of sports, when I'm thinking of a boy growing up and being a man, I'm thinking of three things - honor, integrity, and toughness. ”

Young guys kind of have this chip on their shoulder of, 'I want to prove something,' right? 'I've got to prove how tough I am. I've got to prove how good I am.' And man, now as I'm getting older, I think it's almost sad when guys my age and older still have that chip on their shoulder. ”

If you look across my career, whether it be mixed martial arts or wrestling, it's very, very, very rare that I lose to someone that I'm not supposed to. ”

It's like, hey, I've done what I could do, I've accomplished a lot, and now this - especially with wrestling - if this next generation wants to pass me up, great job. Good for them. ”

I think every promoter's job is to pump their athletes up. Like, you see, Dana White did it all the time with branding people: all of a sudden, they're the best thing since sliced bread, just because that's the promoter's job. ”

I want to go and fight the best guys in the world and show people I'm the best. And hey, if something doesn't go my way - I don't think that's gonna happen. I realize that's a possibility in competition, and that's what happens. ”

If you're competing right, if you're doing it right, competition should be a very selfish pursuit. ”

I'm open to any welterweight on Planet Earth. ”

Andrey Koreshkov is not well-rounded. He's been taken down and mounted and has his back taken by Lyman Good, which tells me he's a terrible grappler. He isn't well rounded. He's a good striker, but that's it. ”

I wouldn't fight Tyron Woodley; we go way, way back. ”