I kind of like to think of myself as the bad girl Olympian that would get kicked out of the Miss America pageant.
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, overcome the challenges, and make the sacrifices it takes to be the best at what you do.
There was a long time I had no job security, no options and no education.
Even though I was painted, even though I had on seven layers of paint – to the point that I got a tan, it was as thick as a fabric – I think I felt the most naked because I couldn’t cover myself at all. I didn’t have to, so I had to be much more open and relaxed.
When you shoot nude, you always find a way to, like, cover yourself up in a way. So you really don’t feel like you’re truly naked because you’re still covering yourself.
I grew up with a lot of body image issues – not just about my weight, but I would always see these perfect orb, domed boobs on television, and think, “Mine don’t look like that.” I thought there was something wrong with me.
I thought that I was mutant somehow. I eventually realized that I have a very natural look, and that’s what God gave me, and I’m proud of it. It was kind of a way for me to get past that as well.
I think that going on any reality show is not good for your mental health because you behave differently when you are being watched, and you constantly have an extra bit of awareness of what’s going on all the time.
I’m kind of like a middle mix between a warrior diet and a Paleo diet, so I only eat once a day and it’s at night – so kind of like interval fasting. But I eat until I’m full, I eat as much as I want, and I really don’t eat anything that you couldn’t find, you know, 10,000 years ago.
Being an athlete, you try to get protein.
The bigger my chest is, the more it gets in the way. It just creates space. It makes me much more efficient if I don’t have so much in the way between me and my opponent.
If I could have had everything exactly the way I wanted, this is how I would have written it down. Win all my fights in the first round, then go to the UFC and headline a show, and have it as a pay-per-view and at home. People’s dreams don’t come true like that.
Where is women’s sports prominently displayed with the men? Tennis is the only thing I can think of.
I’m a courageous person because I’m a scared person.
I’m going to retire undefeated. I’ll take everybody out one-by-one then go on my merry way.
I respect Georges St. Pierre as a businessman and an athlete. I don’t have anything against him personally. But he’s not the kind of fighter I like watching.
Reality TV is set up to make people entertaining. A good person with values and principles is not good television.
In MMA it’s a lot less intimidating because it’s not like you get one shot at a title every four years. You get a title shot every couple of months With the Olympics, you don’t always have this, so there is so much more pressure involved.
If there’s a camera on me or off me, it’s roughly the same, just a lot less energy.
Whenever people call me the first female this or that, it doesn’t make it more special because no one in front of me wanted the same job. I’ve always wanted weird stuff and enjoyed things differently than other girls.
I try not to get caught up on how cool I am. That way nothing ever gets done. I’m always thinking about what I haven’t done.