"One of the reasons I haven't competed in the last two Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) tournaments is the quality of the fighters the promoters have chosen. The organizers have gone out and picked guys who are the biggest and ugliest. They are no longer concerned with who has the best technique. At UFC VI, they picked a few champions and then filled in the other spots with big, ugly guys. I don't mind fighting these guys, but they should probably do drug tests on some of these fighters.

The organizers need to go back to how they did it at the first few UFC events, when they had champion martial artists. During the first four UFC tournaments, there were guys who actually showed some style and technique. Maybe the organizers put UFC VI together to quickly."

"I did not fight in UFC VII because of the quality of fighters they invited, and also because they added a time limit on the fights. They want me to fight these big guys, and now they want to put time limits on the fights. Giving away that much weight, I cannot work with a time limit. These big guys can play for the draw with a time limit, because they know they cannot beat me.

So I told the UFC people that unless they remove the time limit, I'm not coming back. Or, if they feel that they have to stick with the time limit, then bring me opponents who are lighter than me. But I would come back if they remove the time limit.

The new World Combat Championship (WCC) also has a time limit. Both the UFC and WCC say they have to have time limits on the fights because of live television. That may be good for television, but not for the fighters.

So I'm looking into the possibility of fighting in other countries. The question is not wheter I want to fight overseas, but whether they will pay the price. With my success in the UFC, my price has certainly risen. I'm not asking something they can't pay; I'm asking a fair price. I will take the best offer, and if the offers are no good, I won't mind taking a rest. I've fought 12 fights in 18 months. I wouldn't mind at all taking a break right now. If something comes up and is a good offer, I'll go for it. But there's no need for me to rush into anything. "The future is still open."