The Triangle Choke: Matt Lindland Interview

Matt “The Law” Lindland is one of the most heralded athletes in the history of MMA. The Olympic Silver Medalist sports a career record of 21-5 with wins against the likes of Carlos Newton, Jeremy Horn, Ricardo Almeida and legend Pat Miletich. The fact is Lindland has been underappreciated during his career. His record and career is just as impressive, if not more so than the likes of Randy Couture (16-9 career record). He accomplished just as much within the octagon competing against athletes of all size, including TTC #1 ranked mixed-martial artist in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. Lindland will fight anyone, any day. Lindland also had a more storied Olympic career than Couture. The main reason for the difference in notoriety is the termination of Lindland’s UFC contract for reasons only known to Dana White. UFC missed the boat on what could have been one of the most popular fighters in the history of UFC.

Why compare Lindland to Couture? There are many reasons. The main being they have a similar background and come through the ranks in similar fashion. There is striking resemblance in physical appearance and in fighting style. Each have often been the underdog, however, more often than not, using their superior wrestling skills they come out victorious. Lindland, Dan Henderson, and Couture became great friends early on in their MMA careers. They formed what is now one of the most recognizable training teams in the world, Team Quest.

As Lindland prepares for his upcoming Affliction bout against Vitor Belfort, he spent some time with TTC & ProFighting-fans.com’s Scott Dryden.

TTC- What was it like growing up in Oregon?

ML- Well, I grew up out in the country so it was probably a little different. We stayed outside and played in the river. I think I worried my mom by going to the river every day. I would either be fishing or rafting depending on the time of the year.

TTC- How did you get started in wrestling?

ML- I got started in wrestling when I was in high school. We had to do it in our gym class as part of the requirement to get the credit for the class. It was kind of used as a recruiting tool for the wrestling team as well. It worked out as I ended up enjoying it and decided to join the team.

TTC- An interesting story how you got the nickname the Law, explain how that came about?

ML- It was kind of funny. Some of my friends thought that the process I went through to re-arbitrate the United States Olympic Committee to get a rematch against a guy I had beaten 11 times in a row, made me deserving of the nickname. I was the only one they were willing to send overseas to quality in the weight class and the previous year I made it to the semi-finals of the World Championships. I think I was vindicated when I came back from Sydney with an Olympic medal. I continued to prove myself in 2001 when I moved up to 85 kilos and came home with another medal from the World Championships. (the basis of the case was questionable scoring of the qualifying match)

TTC- What was the experience like in Sydney. It had to be amazing just to be there let alone come home with a Silver Medal.

ML- Yeah people say that it must have been this unbelievable experience. For me it was nice but to go through the court battle and arbitrations and all the attorneys, judges and all that stuff. It was nice to just get on the mat and compete. Honestly, I never put too much thought into getting to the games, it was always just competing. I look at more as just another opportunity to get on the mat and compete against the best guys in the world.

TTC- When you came back to the states, you were in MMA very quickly. How did that come about?

ML- I came back from the Sydney games in October and my first bout within UFC was in December of the same year.

TTC- I’m not sure of the timing regarding training with Dan Henderson and Randy Couture, did you train with them for your first bout?

ML- I was living in Nebraska up until the games. I came back and moved back to my hometown; Ironically enough Dan and Randy were both living in my hometown.

TTC- How intense was it with three extreme competitors rolling and sparring together?

ML- It was, it certainly was. We trained together for a lot of years as wrestlers. Dan and I competed against each other 4 times. We are even right now. I don’t think we are going to have a rubber match in the octagon anytime soon. We have always been competitive with each other in the training room and fighting as well. It is a lot of fun; those guys are two of the best fighters in the world. When I first got started I was blessed to have those guys training right in my hometown in a sport I wanted to get involved in. So I was very blessed and took advantage of that opportunity.

TTC- The three of you hit the sport near the same time right as the sports was beginning to take off...

ML- Dan and Randy got into it a little earlier than I did as I was still focused on wrestling primarily. I did step into the octagon a month and ½ after I got home from the Olympics but I competed the next year in the World Championships in wrestling so I was splitting my time with that and MMA fighting. In January 2002 I was fully devoted to the sport of MMA. For some odd reason, I showed up at the US Open that year. Someone must have talked me into it. With not training for an entire year, just doing MMA, I still did pretty well making it to the US Open finals. I lost to one of my old students who I must have trained very well.

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TTC- The three of you (Randy, Dan) started Team Quest which has been immensely successful. Randy speaks about the gym in his book and how he started to pull away. How is your relationship with Dan and Randy today?

ML- Our relationship is really good. I was down in Vegas right before Randy’s last fight against Brock. We got a chance to visit for a little while. He had a lot of people around him that week. It's kind of a tough week for him when he has that many people surrounding him. We did get to catch up a little bit. Dan and I are still very close. We are moving forward with the Team Quest brand together. Dan has the gym in California and I have the one here in Oregon. We both are near our hometowns and doing what we love to do.

TTC- You were very successful in UFC. Why is it that you not in UFC now, and what happened that led you to venture into other organizations?

ML- I actually got dropped from my UFC contract after 3 consecutive wins. You know, I don’t know the reason; there is a lot of speculation as to why. The reason UFC told me they dropped me was because I wore an unapproved sponsor shirt. This topic has been hashed over and over again. For me it’s a little boring to talk about why I’m not in the UFC. Frankly, it doesn’t bother me. I’m fighting in other organizations and I’ve made more money than I ever made in UFC. I was in there before the whole reality show thing took off which exploded the UFC onto SpikeTV. Maybe there is more money there now. If I would have stuck around maybe I would be making the same. I don’t know… I’ve very content with what I’m doing.

TTC- We have Fedor ranked #1 in our Pound for Pound rankings. You competed against him in Bodog. What is your opinion of him in comparison to Brock and the Nogueira’s of the world?

ML- We have seen Nogueira and Fedor compete. Brock is real new to the sport but can catch up with guys like Nogueira and possibly even Fedor. He definitely has the size advantage. The thing that impressed me most about Fedor was the way he moved on the ground for a guy his size, very agile and very quick.

TTC- What has been your biggest moment in the sport of MMA?

ML- Boy I don’t know. I can’t think of a specific moment. I just enjoy doing what I do.

TTC- In the upcoming Affliction 2 card you are going to take on Vitor Belfort. What kind of challenges does he present for you?

ML- Vitor is probably one of the most talented guys in the sport. He is very explosive. He has incredible hand speed. He is very athletic. Now that he is down to 185lbs, he is on a winning streak. He has kind of reinvented himself. I think he is a huge challenge. At one time he was one of the top guys at 205lbs. I think he is hungry to go out there and prove himself.

TTC- Where do you see yourself at this point in your career? What is next for you after the fight with Belfort?

ML- I really don’t know what is next for me. There is no such thing as a World Champion in this sport at this current time. Each organization has their own champion. I guess the WAMMA belt is an attempt at that but its hard to say that’s it without the UFC involved. You would have to have all organizations involved. People say they are the champion and all that but there is no sanctioning body or ranking system. For me its hard to say but I love getting in there doing what I love and making a living.

TTC- Your delve into politics has been highly publicized. Will you continue in the political arena?

ML- It was a tough year to be a Republican candidate. It was a blue wave across the entire country especially here in Oregon where liberalism keeps spreading. There are a lot of great Democrats out there that I love dearly. I just have a hard time dealing with the flaming liberals on the far left. There seems to be this thought that there is some fairy God government or something that is giving away free insurance and healthcare, welfare and all kinds of stuff. There is no such thing as a free lunch. I think you learn that being in athletics where the more you put into it the more you get out of it. I don’t know where I will go in politics. I’m sure I will continue to be an activist at some level. I don’t know if I will run for office again or not. Losing may be a big blessing for me and allows me to focus on my career in and out of the ring including my gym, my management company, Sportfight promotion as well as getting my clothing line Dirty Boxer up and running.

By Scott Dryden
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer & Director of MMA Content