On whether fans recognize him now: “When I went to the UFC in Philly a couple of months ago, it blew my mind how many people knew me. When I fought out in Oakland or North Carolina, I would fight and then I would go get a beer or something and nobody even knew who I was. Here, it was as soon as I walked into the weigh-ins or in the lobby, it was, ‘Hey, can I get an autographed picture?’ I love it. That’s part of what fuels me to do what I do.”
On how he views the Story win: “I don’t rest on my laurels with that. It’s one of those things that it was neat that it happened. I’m fortunate that everything came together, but the business works like this: You’re as big as your next fight. It’s like, if I don’t do well against Anthony Johnson, then I’m a has-been, I got lucky, et cetera, et cetera. I really need to prove myself with this fight.”
On how he’ll approach the fight with Johnson: “I’m just going to keep moving. If he wants to strike with me, I’m not afraid to strike with him. Is it the smartest thing? Probably not, but I’ll do what I can to use that to my advantage.”
On Johnson’s performance against Dan Hardy: “Nothing against Dan Hardy -- he's a good guy -- but [Johnson] outwrestled Dan Hardy. Dan Hardy is not known to have very good wrestling. I think the reason that Johnson looked so good was because he dictated the fight. Whenever you can [choose] the path that you’re going to take and it goes accordingly, that’s a lot easier on your body. Had Hardy stopped those takedowns, had he made Anthony really fight for that stuff, then that puts a different twist on it. But to simply outwrestle Dan Hardy, no, that doesn’t intimidate me very much.”
On the size advantage Johnson will have and how much weight he cuts: “It definitely dictates what I’m going to try to do and how I try to do it. If I go punch for punch with him, it’s probably not going to be the smartest thing for me. I have to utilize my other skills as well.”
On whether a win puts him in the title hunt: “I agree with the people that I need to prove more than just beating Rick Story. But yeah, if I can beat Anthony Johnson, back to back, him and Story, then absolutely: I think I deserve to be in that mix. I don’t really think anyone would disagree with that argument.”
On who will win the upcoming bout between Johny Hendricks and Jon Fitch: “Hendricks and Fitch is an interesting fight. It’s one of those things where I definitely think Hendricks has the ability to beat him. I don’t think he will. I think Fitch will come out on top in this one, but a lot of people look at Fitch and Koscheck in the same realm that as long GSP is the champ, they’re not really going to get a crack at the title. That just depends on the bosses.”
On who will win between Georges St. Pierre and Carlos Condit: “I think GSP. I don’t want to say it’s going to be an easy fight. I just don’t see Condit having anything for GSP that he hasn’t seen before. With GSP’s wrestling-heavy game [and] Condit’s lack of wrestling, I see [GSP] taking it pretty decisively.”
Listen to the full interview (beginning at 41:33).