MY THOUGHTS ON ISRAEL

My commitment to helping the needy and underprivileged in the world hardened. The UFC is the big brand in the world. When we come inside the UFC as fighters, it’s easy to never think about how much responsibility we have for the world and our fans. That’s the point I’ve tried to absorb, and where I’ve taken all my energies … martial arts is how I can continue my legacy, to continue to help people.

I’m a completely different person from who I was 10 years ago. I think about the different experiences of my life and how they’ve shaped me. I have five children, ages 22, 21, 19, 16, 14 — three boys, two girls.

And now I’ve just seen Manny Pacquiao win his first fight as a 40-year-old. Wow! Amazing! That proves age is just a number. It’s not about age. It’s about how healthy you feel inside your mind and inside your heart. You strive to feel better and better. If you love your sport, it doesn’t matter how you feel. Just keep doing it, because you’ll find it makes everything in your life better.

‘You have a responsibility now. You have money and power, but you have more than that now. You have a responsibility to help people.’

That’s why I feel so very happy that God has given me one more opportunity to fight, especially in this moment of my life. I believe this is a special moment for me.

I hear everyone saying Israel is my clone or the new version of me … you know, I already have three versions of myself – my sons Gabriel, Kalyl and Joao. Those are the best versions of me. My clones are running around my house.

Israel is a great fighter. He’s young. He has a big future inside this sport. I believe in Israel as a good fighter with a great future. My path is a different experience from Israel’s. I’ve come from having nothing – nothing – and I had nothing to lose. I know some things, too, and I have a long past that I will call upon.

Winning our fight will get me another title shot, against the winner of Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. I know that. I don’t have a preference who wins, but let me say Whittaker is an amazing champion. I know it’s not easy to stay in the category of being a champion for a long time, but when you have something in your heart, you can do anything. Whittaker is special guy with a big heart. He’s very strong, and he has the ability to stay in the UFC for a very long time.

‘THE BELT IS NOT THE POINT’

My fight is good for me and Israel, and it’s good for the sport, as well.

People are asking if I’ll be content without getting the belt back. I don’t need the belt. What I need is to stay happy, to stay completely at peace. And when I go inside that cage, I’ll be happy. I won’t be thinking about the belt.

Let me emphasize that: the belt is not the point. The point is how much you go inside the cage feeling in your heart that you’re doing something special – for your fans and for yourself. That’s my goal now. I don’t think I need to prove anything to anybody now. I’ve won and I’ve lost in my life.

Now, I just need to make my life better and give everything back to my fans, and, hopefully, God gives me one more chance to fight for a championship.

Then, after the fight, I can go swim with the sharks.

Each day in my life now, I try to do something special to recapture the energy I had when I started my career. Swimming with the sharks in Australia will be a continuation of that.

Sharks are special. People think they’re bad. They’re not.

Human beings are bad for sharks, and humans need to respect the ocean.

To be honest, I’m very scared about going to see the sharks. It’s easy for me to talk about doing it now, but then the sharks will come so close to me in that cage. The sharks may look at me, with my dark skin, and think, ‘Oh, a big seal! OK! It’s time for me to eat!’

But I want to do that, and I’m happy to still be fighting, too.

Everybody’s talking that the younger fighter is better than the older fighter. The new talent comes. That’s natural. But I’ve remained in this sport for so long. So I say thank you God for allowing me to stay in shape and trying to do my best every day, and now, let’s go see what happens in Australia!