Exclusive: Duško Todorović for Sportal ahead of the UFC spectacle in Belgrade: You don't have to be a bad guy to succeed /VIDEO/

Well, what should I be overly proud of? I am who I am. But I think that's just another prejudice – that you have to be a certain way to succeed. I don't think those things are connected or have anything to do with each other. What I do as a fighter directly impacts me outside the octagon, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a bad guy to be successful.

During training camps, I wake up, have breakfast, and go to training. After that, I go home to rest, play a bit with my child, and take a nap. Then I go to a second training session or therapy, and so on. Then back home, more rest, dinner... Basically, nothing spectacular, it all seems quite ordinary.

Essentially, I did that more to appease my parents, to calm them down a bit. In my mind, I already more or less knew that sports were what I wanted to do and that it was truly me, so I just did this alongside it. I managed to finish it, but I have no plans to pursue it in the future.

Taekwondo. It was quite random, actually. I was in first grade when we had just moved to Belgrade. I saw a flyer on the school prefects' table, "Taekwondo Club Galeb," I picked it up and just went to training that evening. I stayed there for about 9 years, earned my black belt, and that was my first contact with a sports discipline. By chance, I learned about MMA there, and a light just went on for me. Just as randomly as I started Taekwondo, I quickly went to my first MMA training session, where I eventually stayed.

It helped a lot, indirectly. In Taekwondo, fighters are known for their flexibility, and that flexibility greatly assisted me in some ground techniques where people don't expect me to execute certain moves, which I then use to my advantage. As for the transition, it wasn't overly difficult for me. I was still a kid, young, and everything felt exciting and new. Although it seemed quite "primitive" at the start, we progressed over time and got to where we are now.

They never held me back; I can't say they ever "tripped me up" or talked me out of it. I've always had 100% support from my parents and my entire family. When I was a kid, I'd sometimes say, "I don't want to go to practice, I'm bored, it's annoying," and then my dad would make me go. And that's when that moment happens, familiar to people who train: you feel like you don't want to train, but if you listen to that feeling and don't go, the moment training starts, you regret it. Thanks to him, I discovered that whenever I feel like I don't want to train – if I go anyway, it turns out to be the best training session ever. It's just a false voice that shouldn't be listened to.

If we're talking about my first amateur fight, it was interesting. After perhaps a year of training, I went to a world competition in Hungary. I had five fights in two or three days (grappling and jiu-jitsu), and I lost all five. I was a child, small, chubby kid, and all my opponents were already in puberty, looking like they could be my parents. A month later, I had my first amateur MMA match and won by stoppage. After that, I racked up about ten more amateur wins and transitioned to the professional ranks. Fear was present at first; everything was new and unknown, but it was also very exciting.

I knew I needed a nickname because it's more marketable once you get to the UFC. It felt awkward to give myself a nickname, so I asked people on Instagram. There were tons of suggestions, some silly, but "Thunder" stuck with me because it matches my initials – T from my name and T from Todorović (Thunder Todorović). I think I chose well. Coincidentally, years before that, I had chosen the song "Thunderstruck" for my walkout. Also, I have a yellow gi that everyone teases me about, but when you open it, on the inside, it's embroidered with the words: Thunder, Thunder, Thunder. I only realized that a couple of years ago.

It doesn't necessarily bring me luck, and I'm not superstitious; I just really like the song. I love AC/DC; it was one of the first bands I started listening to as a kid when I discovered music. Rock as a genre is great, and it's the song I'll continue to walk out to in the future.

Initially, I didn't even think about what would be difficult. After all these years, the hardest part is definitely when you take a long break. Whether it's due to injury or something else, as soon as you fall out of shape – especially as I get older – it's much harder to get back into that daily fighting routine and two training sessions a day. It's incredibly demanding on the body to push through that initial period of getting back into shape. That's definitely number one. Duško Todorović

I'd highlight my last fight because I went into it seriously injured. I tore my ACL; my preparations were only halfway through, and I couldn't train with proper intensity. That brought its own problems – I couldn't cut weight normally and had a lot of struggles. Nevertheless, it was an obstacle I managed to overcome. It was unpleasant, but I won that match and didn't injure myself further. There, I learned that sometimes you can play around bad circumstances and simply bypass them.

Yes, that was interesting. First, since the UFC is a big company, they called me to come two weeks before the event because they needed to gather video and photo material for production. During the visa process, I got my visa without a problem, but my coach didn't, so I went there alone. That was, in a way, the biggest match for me at that moment, carrying the most weight – whether I would make it or not. I was going alone. Along the way, we managed to bring two friends, guys I had trained with for a long time. Vuk Stešević, who was in America at the time, came for the last few days to help me, and Nikola Savović, currently one of the kickboxing coaches here at Thunder, also helped me because he has American papers, making it easy for him to travel. But still, my main coach, the man who is with me on the mats every day, wasn't there. We spent about two weeks there, did everything we needed to, and then the fight came. It was a new experience for me – fighting without my coach, the immense pressure of the fight itself... I literally arrived in the UFC practically 15 minutes away from the UFC. I managed to put in three good rounds; my opponent was really tough and dangerous. He was, at that time, the highest-ranked Canadian fighter, a champion in two weight classes in their top organization. It was a pretty good test for me, but we managed to win. After the fight, Dana White has all the winners sit on chairs and then calls out who got a contract. I knew I won, but I didn't know if I got a contract because winning itself isn't a guarantee; he also has to like you. He takes the microphone, calls my name, and there it is – I get a contract. That was a really great thing to hear.

How could it not be? Look, at that moment I was a kid, I don't know how old I was then, 23-24-25, I have no idea. First, to go there, to the UFC Performance Institute at that time, nothing... I come from some basement, a cellar, and I go to the best facility in the world, I still think so in that regard. I spend two weeks there, training, it's truly perfection. Anyone who hasn't seen and experienced it simply... it's hard to describe in words.

I've had my ups and downs. I believe I've gained a lot of experience, and I think that someday – when I hang up my gloves and transition into coaching – I'll have a lot to pass on to younger fighters, drawing from my own experiences and mistakes. I've seen what works, what doesn't, how things should be done... I've learned a lot from my errors, and I'll be glad to share that with someone so they don't make the same mistakes I did.

Yes, that was the fight against Zak Crist, who is actually a teammate of my current opponent. When that happens, it either gets overturned into a win or it's nullified, and that's it. You can either accept it or, as I did, see where I went wrong. I was taking some silly kicks that I perhaps shouldn't have taken so easily, and a judge who sees a strike counts it as a point, regardless of whether it causes real damage. I still take personal responsibility for that loss, even though I believe I did enough in that fight to secure the victory. There's nothing to do but learn from it; it's a lesson for the next fight and for future competitors.

I haven't because, from my own experience, I've seen that surgery isn't always necessary. I'm not some anti-surgery fanatic who's crazy against it; it's just that, for example – when I injured my right knee in a fight in London against Christian Leroy Duncan. That leg recovered completely, even though it was the most severe injury. I truly have zero problems with that leg now. After that injury, the recovery and everything went perfectly; I managed to do it at Fit Fizio with Dejan Dević and Luka Božović. They were the first to help me. When I arrived, I had the knowledge – an ACL injury equals surgery. And he told me: "Wait, first get an MRI, then we'll see." I got the MRI, and indeed it was an ACL tear, which hit me even harder. However, the radiologist told me: "Wait, since the ligaments are literally holding on by 7 millimeters, wait a few weeks, do some light therapy and training, and then we'll see." I listened, went for a follow-up MRI after two months because I saw that my condition was improving, and I saw that the ligament was starting to reconnect. We continued the recovery, and I had that injury in March (March 18th), and in August, I had another MRI, and I was at 100%; the ligament had 100% continuity. Learning from that experience, we tried to go through the same process with my left leg. Coincidentally, I re-injured it during preparations for one match, and then again during preparations for another match. These are unfortunate circumstances, but they must be overcome. Again, I'm recovering without surgery. People who need it – they get surgery, and that's that, but in my case, it's not like that.

Initially, I thought so, but later, when you see that many fighters go through it, get surgery, and return, I knew that option always existed. I wasn't overly afraid that it was the end; I don't have that fear.

First, we opened Thunder Top Team. During that process, I separated from my old club, and we simply joined forces with Nemanja. We started training with him, and now we have a collaboration where he also holds training sessions at Thunder, so we've combined something nice and useful, and now we have a great story.

In principle, it has slightly changed, or rather, upgraded some things I was doing before. There's that saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," but you can always improve something, fix something. I believe I've only built upon what I already knew, improved some things, and I think that's evident. The results of that work will be shown on August 1st.

Yes, he comes here, watches training sessions. I try to bring him as much as possible to get acquainted with the mats and that world. It's beautiful, a really beautiful thing. Of course, it has affected me in some ways – there are tougher moments, but everything is going ideally, knock on wood. I try to keep training and parenthood somewhat separate, but I enjoy both equally.

I would like him to find something he loves, just as I love sports. Whatever he chooses, whether it's MMA, football, basketball, judo, karate... whatever, I will support him just as my parents supported me. I think the most important thing is for a child to fall in love with it and dedicate themselves to it.

Well, I don't want to say I'm largely responsible. Besides me, there are many of our fighters who have participated and are participating, achieving success in the organization. The federation is also doing good work. When the UFC saw that it was a well-organized system, that there were competitors from here, and that the sport was popular, they put "one and one" together. I think it will be an exceptional event, a true celebration for fans, and that MMA in this region will not be the same after August 1st.

We're known for great cheering. But that difference will truly be seen when you come to the arena and witness it... The UFC has that X-factor, I don't know what else to call it. The last time I was at a main card event, from the hotel all the way back to the arena, there was a specific energy. For a fan who comes to watch it, I don't think there's anything quite like it.

I've never thought too much about it, so I don't feel the need for someone to "suddenly" accept me. I've practically lived here my whole life. I did spend my childhood in Montenegro, but for me, it's all the same and always has been. I don't make that distinction. I represent Serbia, I live here, it's my country.

Basically, he's a respectable, good opponent. His record doesn't say much about him, so I definitely won't underestimate him. I'm aware of his qualities, but I'm also aware of my own. In MMA, one punch changes everything; that's what's most interesting about this sport. I know I'm better and more skilled than him, and I'm going for the win.

Many local fighters go to foreign camps. You've always been loyal to Serbia, and is your participation in the UFC, and now your fourth contract, proof that fighters in Serbia can find everything they need to reach the world's top?

From the start, I've believed that's the case and that it's true. I believe we have many quality coaches, many quality people, meaning sparring partners to work with. Now, people probably go abroad for some exotic reasons or their own reasons, but I think that's okay; everyone chooses and does what they want. Well, I've shown that you can go to the UFC from here and stay in it from here. Just so people don't have the wrong idea that they now have to fly to America or Thailand to succeed; simply, everything can be done here too.

I think even without the fact that Rodriguez spent the last few months in jail, Medić is the favorite, no question.

That's right, and that might "fit him nicely," as they say. He's quite large and built for the heavyweight division. Simply put, we've worked together, I've felt his weight, he's very strong, and I don't think he'll lack power, and technically he's above them. I think this will be a good change for him.

That's right, he already had an opportunity on the Contender Series, he won the fight, but he didn't get a contract. Again, it takes two to tango, and his opponent wanted to wrestle and go to the ground more, so Jovan couldn't achieve a convincing, impressive victory. With his quality, he showed great maturity at that moment, he did what was necessary for the win, and now he has a much better story and scenario because he's debuting in his home country. It couldn't be better.

I saw the results; everything went as expected, just as I thought. So, expected outcomes.

There's a saying, "the frog saw the horse being shod, so it lifted its leg too." Similarly, they saw Conor McGregor doing it, and it makes sense when someone who earns millions does it. Here, initially, there was no "bread" to be made from it, and then you see people doing it openly, publicly, which to me is embarrassing and ridiculous. Some people genuinely have a knack for it, like Muhammad Ali in his time. That was charming; he'd recite a whole poem, not to insult you, but to playfully jab at you. Simply put, some have that charisma, but when you try to force it, it comes across as very strange, and people immediately recognize that. I'm generally not that type of person; you won't see or hear that from me, and I personally don't support it.

A big minus, a big minus.

It started when I first went to Vegas, to the UFC Performance Institute. I've been there almost ten times now, so we had the opportunity to see everything. Since my head coach had visa issues, when he finally went with me, we looked at it and had the same idea: "Why don't we do this in Serbia?" Of course, Ivan Popović and a few other people joined in, and we wanted to replicate that institute in our modest version. The entire building is larger than Mercator, the plot has a huge parking lot, a massive building... these are dreams for any athlete. Every professional there can find training conditions, so I don't think there are many better places in the world than that. We managed to create a really good club.

I can't say I'm currently leading the club; we've entrusted that to other people. I'm focused on my competitive career, and the director of Thunder is Janko Milanović, our friend who runs it. As for whether I'm a better fighter – it just makes things easier for me because I have everything under one roof and close to home. I can easily get to training, I can rest if I want, we have weights, a spa area, a sauna; everything is in one place, which brings me great relief in that regard.

The crowning achievement of my career would definitely be, at some point, fighting for and winning the belt. But that's a distant future, as I still have work to do before that. For now, my focus is August 1st, and after that, entering the top 15 and gradually climbing towards that number one contender spot.