MMA is a wonderful sport that is full of action. With its legendary press conferences, post-fight interviews and charismatic fighters, it’s also the home of many legendary quotes.
Here we wanted to celebrate these quotes by looking at the 80 best of all time! We’ve broken these down into different categories so you can easily find your favorite. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
80 Best UFC/MMA Quotes of All Time
Join us as we look at the best UFC/MMA quotes ever! We start our list by looking at some legendary motivational quotes.
15 Best UFC/MMA Motivational Quotes
There have been many memorable motivational quotes in the history of MMA and here are 15 of the best!
1. “I’m not the best. I just believe I can do things other people think are impossible.”
Not the best? Many would disagree with Anderson Silva about that, but it’s a great quote anyway.
2. “Loss is part of life. If you don’t have loss, you don’t grow.”
Dominick Cruz on coming back from setbacks.
3. “The truth is that I didn’t start as a winner. When I was a kid, I was just another reject. I started at the bottom. I think all winners do.”
Georges St. Pierre on his journey.
4. “A fighter can always recover, and you never know what they’re going to come back with.”
Holly Holm on the fighting spirit.
5. “You need a dragon hidden inside you. When you need, you let the dragon out.”
Anderson Silva on finding that inner fire.
6. “Just do whatever you want to in life. One day tomorrow won’t be there.”
Wise words from Donald Cerrone. Live for today.
7. “I look at obstacles as opportunities.”
Another of the greatest, Jon Jones, on overcoming challenges.
8. “If you have a dream, don’t let anyone talk you out of it.”
Henry Cejudo on blocking negative outsiders.
9. “Through adversity, we find our better self.”
A lovely quote from Michelle Waterson
10. “I don’t fight for the money. I fight for my legacy. I fight for history. I fight for my people.”
Considering he retired at the top of his game, we believe Khabib Nurmagomedov when it comes to this quote.
11. “Belief is a powerful thing.”
Amen to that, T.J. Dillashaw.
12. “No matter what comes your way, just don’t let it phase you. You can overcome anything.”
From Rose Namajunas, who knows all about overcoming adversity with her troubled childhood.
13. “We fall, but we get up because the ground is no place for a champion.”
Dustin Poirier, who knows what it takes to come back from a loss.
14. “Don’t limit yourself, and don’t let anyone put a limit on your potential.”
As Randa Markos says, don’t limit yourself!
15. “Dream big, stay positive, work hard, and enjoy the journey.”
As Urijah Faber says, have your goals but don’t forget to enjoy life along the way.
15 Best UFC/MMA Inspirational Quotes
Along with motivational quotes, we also wanted to celebrate the best inspirational and deep quotes from the world of MMA. Here are our top 15.
1. “Don’t be scared to look for help. Depression is real.”
Max Holloway is a tough man in the ring, and also not scared to show his emotions.
2. “You know what the true definition of hell is? It’s when you die; you get to meet the person you could have been.”
This a deep and powerful quote from Frank Mir.
3. “When you lose, say little. When you win, say less.”
Matt Hughes on the art of being a good loser and a good winner.
4. “I only want to be known as the best ever. Is that too much to ask?”
B.J. Penn on aiming for the stars.
5. “If you haven’t lost in this sport, you haven’t fought the right guys yet.”
Another Matt Hughes quote on what makes MMA so incredible.
6. “If you do something bad, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. It means you had bad judgment.”
Jon Jones, who knows all about bad judgments!
7. “No matter how bad things get, eventually the sun is going to shine.”
Daniel Cormier on how things will always get better.
8. “We fail but we get up, because the ground is no place for a champ.”
Dustin Poirier, who knows what it takes to be a champ.
9. “In the Octagon and in life, you face tough situations and have every chance to quit, but the more adversity you push through, the more likely you are to be successful.”
Tyron Woodley on his life philosophy.
10. “If you’re not willing to go too far, you’ll never go far enough in life.”
Chael Sonnen on pushing the limits.
11. “A boxer is like a lion, the greatest predator on land. But you throw him in the shark tank and he’s just another meal.”
Renzo Gracie, comparing MMA to a shark tank.
12. “I’m a martial artist. I don’t train for a fight. I train for myself. I’m training all the time. My goal is perfection. But I will never reach perfection.”
To be fair, Georges St. Pierre, you were very close to perfect!
13. “Everyone wants hand-outs. Everyone wants things for free. You’ve got to put in the work. You’ve got to grind.”
Conor McGregor on the grind.
14. “A brave man, a real fighter, is not measured by how many times he falls, but how many times he stands up.”
Rickson Gracie on adversity.
15. “You have to have fear in order to have courage. I’m a courageous person because I’m a scared person.”
Wise words from Ronda Rousey.
10 Best Funny UFC/MMA Quotes
Of course, the MMA is also full of hilarious quotes. Here are the ten best funny UFC/MMA quotes.
1. “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 when desperately trying to get a rematch with Anderson Silva. He got the rematch, and lost again.
2. “I hope to God you come ready, because if you don’t, I’m going to beat you into a living death.”
Why is this Ken Shamrock funny? Well, 1. Tito Ortiz just laughed at him, and 2. Ortiz went and beat him anyway.
3. There are three things in life that excite me. A woman, of course. Dinosaurs, and the violence of the octagon
We’re not sure why Georges St. Pierre is so excited by dinosaurs . . .
4. Conceive, believe, achieve. Sounds like the worst self-help book I’ve ever read. Shut the f**k up!”
Michael Bisping wasn’t interested in Luke Rockhold’s philosophical words.
5. “90% of the game is half mental.”
Thankfully Tim Sylvia was an MMA fighter and not a mathematician.
6. I want to f**k . . . I want to fight with Chuck; f**k Chuck!
Wanderlei Silva getting his English words mixed up!
7. “I have a full toolbox full of tools.”
What else would a toolbox be full of, Raquel Pennington?
8. “When I started, I used to go off just instincts. Then they took headbutts away, so I had to learn some skills.”
This Mark Coleman quote shows what MMA used to be like!
9. “I want to outlive my children.”
We’re 99% sure Tito Ortiz got his words mixed up here, but we can’t be certain. Fun fact, two of his three children are twins from his relationship with legendary porn actress Jenna Jameson.
10. ”The labia.”
Glover Teixeira hilariously getting his labrum (shoulder cartilage) and labia (female genitalia) mixed up when asked what injury he had.
10 Best Post Fight UFC/MMA Quotes
Many of the best MMA quotes have come right after a fight. Here are the ten best!
1. “I’m Tito Ortiz and love me or hate me, I’m gonna’ be here for a long, long time!”
A defiant message from Tito Ortiz after his 2006 win against Forrest Griffin
2. “I think that last one was just to shut him up a little bit.”
Dan Henderson on his final punch after knocking out Michael
3. “Sean Sherk, you’re dead!”
B.J. Penn calling out Sean Sherk after a win. Dead? Not quite, but B.J. did beat him via knockout.
4. “Don’t fear me, fear the consequences!”
This quote from Paul Buentello could have been featured in our funny quotes list. He tried to get the crowd to repeat his catchphrase, but failed badly.
5. “If they want to see the guy’s arm ripped totally off, I’ll rip it off.”
Frank Mir on his stoppage win vs Tim Sylvia, after breaking his arm.
6. “There gonna’ be some more black-on-black crime!”
Quinton Jackson on a future fight with Rashad Evans after beating his training partner, Keith Jardine. Evans would go on to win their fight.
7. “I was not impressed by your performance.”
Georges St. Pierre delivered this line after he stepped into the octagon when Matt Hughes beat B.J. Penn. GSP would then go on to win his fight against Hughes.
8. “I’m the best ever!”
Phil Baroni with a huge release of emotion after beating Dave Menne.
9. “That’s just the way I am. I’m just a dog, I fight.”
Forrest Griffin after beating Tito Ortiz
10. “Not bad for an old man.”
Randy Couture after his comeback win at the age of 43.
10 Best Conor McGregor Quotes
Of course, we couldn’t make a list of memorable MMA quotes without mentioning Conor McGregor. Here are the best.
1. “If you’re asking would I like to fight Floyd Mayweather? I mean, who would not like to dance around the ring for $180 million?”
To be fair, I think most of us would take a knockout for $180 million.
2. “The only weight I give a f**k about is the weight of the cheques, and my cheques are super-heavyweight.”
Re the difference in weight between him and Nate Diaz. You can’t argue with that point!
3. “There’s two things I really like to do and that’s whoop ass and look good. I’m doing one of them right now, and on Saturday night, I’m doing the other.”
Classic McGregor charisma.
4. “We’re not just here to take part, we’re here to take over.”
After his victory over Diego Brandao, after going 3/3 at the start of his UFC career.
5. “I run this whole thing. I run New York. I run this whole ship.”
After criticism he was getting preferential treatment from Dana White.
6. “I’m going to toy with this man. I will rearrange his facial structure. His wife and kids won’t recognize him again.”
A disturbing quote before his win over Eddie Albarez
7. “Me and Jesus are cool. I’m cool with all the gods. Gods recognize gods.”
McGregor on religion . . .
8. “I’ve ridiculed everyone on the roster. I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, I’d like to take this chance to apologize . . . to absolutely nobody!”
Another legendary quote, not stepping back from all his trash-talking.
9. “Timing beats speed. Precision beats power.”
Never a truer quote said.
10. “Who the f**k is dat guy?”
If this was a list of famous UFC/MMA quotes, this would probably be number one! But who was that guy? The answer is Jeremy Stephens!
10 Best Ronda Rousey Quotes
We thought Ronda Rousey deserved her own section too! She changed the women’s game and gave us plenty of inspirational quotes along the way.
1. “The knowledge that everything good can be taken away at any second is what makes me work so hard.”
Never take life for granted!
2. “Everyone wants to win. But to truly succeed–whether it is at a sport or at your job or in life–you have to be willing to do the hard work.”
You can’t achieve anything without hard work.
3. “Most people focus on the wrong thing: They focus on the result, not the process. The process is the sacrifice.”
Trust the process!
4. “To be the best, you have to constantly be challenging yourself, raising the bar, pushing the limits of what you can do. Don’t stand still, leap forward.”
Ronda definitely raised the bar!
5. “Success is the result of hard work, busting your ass every day for years on end without cutting corners or taking shortcuts.”
If anyone knows what it takes to be successful, it’s Ronda.
6. “No one is ever going to give you anything of value. You have to work for it, sweat for it, fight for it.”
Underpinning the value of hard work.
7. “If you can’t dream big, ridiculous dreams, what’s the point in dreaming at all?”
Dream big, kids!
8. “I am not looking to escape the pressure. I am embracing it. Pressure is what builds up in the chamber behind a bullet before it explodes out of the gun.”
Embrace the pressure to release your potential!
9. “No matter how much you try or what you say, people aren’t going to fully understand you or where you’re coming from. You just have to get used to being misunderstood.”
A wonderful quote for those struggling to be heard.
10. “Once you start caring about people’s opinions of you, you give up control.”
Always focus on yourself.
10 Best Diaz Brothers Quotes
The Diaz brothers of Nick and Nate both had successful MMA careers and were both hilarious. We wanted to celebrate that by looking at their best quotes.
1. “Actually, on the contrary, my MMA career has gotten in the way of my weed smoking.”
Nick on whether weed had gotten in the way of his MMA career!
2. “You’re playing touch butt in the park with some dork with a ponytail.”
Nate wasn’t impressed with Conor McGregor’s fight preparation.
3. “So we’re throwing spinning s**t now?”
Nick mid-fight when Carlos Condit tried a spinning back fist.
4. “Ay, I’m not surprised motherf****s.”
Nate after people were surprised, he beat McGregor.
5. “I got nothing against the guy, except that he is kind of a piece of shit.”
Nick telling it straight about Chael Sonnen.
6. “Not too hard for me to stay motivated when I’m in a sport where everyone’s trying to knock me out.”
Can’t argue with these wise words from Nate.
7. “I don’t know about you guys, but I like my rock stars choking on their own vomit and uh, you know, what’s it matter anyways?”
Nick on his perfect version of a rock star.
8. “I don’t come and fight for fun. I don’t do that. I don’t like to hurt people for fun.”
Nate getting surprisingly deep.
9. “The bottom line is Georges is being a little b****.”
Nick calling out Georges St. Pierre for not speaking up after Nick got pulled from their fight by the UFC.
10. “I always took a fight; I always took everybody. I fought everybody.”
No one can doubt that, Nate.
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed this look at the best UFC/MMA quotes! Which one was your favorite? It’s hard to pick as there are so many brilliant ones to choose from!