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MATT LINDLAND
© Marc Wickert www.knucklepit.com All photos copyright 2004 Zuffa
LLC When Greco-Roman wrestler Matt Lindland was presented with a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics, he knew most of his preparation for the Games had not been spent focusing on his opponents. It had been consumed by red tape in his battle to be selected for the US wrestling team. "My match in the final Olympic trials was misjudged, and they didn’t want me to be selected, so I had to go and beat the guy again, which was no real problem because it was a guy I’d already beaten 11 times in a row. It was just politics. There are a lot of politics in all sports," says Lindland. Once Matt eventually made the Olympic team, he put the controversy behind him and concentrated on winning a medal. He says representing his country in the Games never overawed him. "For me, it was just like competing in any other tournament. It was where I wanted to be. But as for the competition I was up against, I wrestled against those guys all the time in international tournaments, so really it was just a bigger stage in that competition."
Matt believes his initial decision to take up wrestling was a natural path for him. "When I started wrestling, there wasn’t really any other option for beating people up without doing it on the street." With a successful wrestling career, which included such highlights as becoming World Cup champion, five times national champion, and three times Pan-Am champion, Matt stopped competing in wrestling after the 2000 Olympics. He then turned to Mixed Martial Arts because he wanted to broaden his skills. "I’d wrestled my whole life and I watched Randy Couture compete successfully in MMA. It looked like something I could do." For UFC 49: Unfinished Business, fellow Team Quest member Couture will be fighting southpaw Vitor Belfort for UFC’s World Light Heavyweight Title. And Lindland’s southpaw style has made him a suitable sparring partner for Randy, in his lead-up to the Belfort fight.
"I’ve been sparring a lot with Randy. It probably helps him since he’s fighting another southpaw. I’ll be fighting a southpaw (David Terrell) too." Based in Oregon, Team Quest is proving to be one of the most successful MMA stables in the world, with other members including Evan Tanner and Dan Henderson. "Not only do we have those guys, but we have a ton of young guys who come to train and will be upcoming champions." Team Quest fighters are renowned for their high level of fitness, their takedown and wrestling skills, and more recently, for their ability to out-strike strikers. Prior to the Tanner v Baroni rematch at UFC 48, few people thought Evan would be able to withstand Baroni’s fierce punching power. But Tanner dominated this aspect of their fight in a similar way to Couture’s domination of striker Chuck Liddell at UFC 43: Meltdown.
Lindland says the Team Quest members do sit down and discuss strategies for capitalizing on an opponent’s weaknesses. "We talk about where their strengths are and where our strengths are, trying to exploit the weaknesses of the opponents." Although Matt is primarily a wrestler, he has been doing a lot of work on his submission and striking skills. As well as sparring with Couture, Lindland has been working under the guidance of renowned Kickboxing and Kempo instructor John Hackleman at his gym, The Pit. At the time of this interview, Matt was having sparring sessions with Chuck Liddell at Hackleman’s gym. "My striking has improved a lot. In my last fight, I stood with a pretty good stand-up fighter, Tony Fryklund, over in Hawaii, and I beat him to the punch every time. I out-struck him, so I think it’s getting pretty good. It’s an area I’d never trained in before. It’s the last part of the game I’ve had to learn, but it’s definitely coming along well. That’s why I’m down here in California training with Hackleman and Liddell: some of the best stand-up fighters in the world. I’m getting ready to spar with Chuck right now." John Hackleman was one of the few people to predict Evan Tanner’s victory over Phil Baroni at UFC 48: Pay Back. His prediction for Lindland’s bout at UFC 49? "He’s gonna win!" Matt’s opponent for the fight is Cesar Gracie BJJ black belt, David Terrell, who has a 4-1 MMA record, with a KO victory over Yuki Sasaki to his credit. "I don’t necessarily expect Terrell to force the fight to the ground, but I expect him to be pretty savvy once the fight does hit the ground." What can fans expect to see from Matt Lindland at UFC 49? "I think they can expect to see a stand-up knockout for the first time. Yeah, I’m looking forward to dropping a big left hand on him, and stopping him with a punch."
For more on Matt Lindland: www.tqfc.com For more on UFC 49:Unfinished
Business: www.ufc.tv MATT LINDLAND Part 2  Matt Lindland and "Rowdy" Rod Piper
Sportfight 8: Justice
© Marc Wickert www.knucklepit.com
All photos copyright Matt Lindland
On January 8, 2005, UFC star and Olympic-wrestling silver medalist Matt Lindland will be going to war against JT Taylor. Team Quest member Lindland will be testing the skills of BBJ exponent JT Taylor at the now-legendary tournament, Sportfight. And with seven professional bouts and six amateur fights on the jam-packed card, this is an event MMA fans won’t want to miss. Having presented the show successfully on seven previous occasions, Matt Lindland states in the latest promo: "Sportfight brings professional No-Holds-Barred fighting to Portland, Oregon. If you want to see fighting in its purest form, then come check out Sportsfight: the ultimate evolution of one-on-one combat." Southpaw Lindland promises to be back, better than ever, for January 8, and plans to take Taylor out in dynamic fashion. "I think fans can expect a pretty brutal beating of this guy in front of my home-town crowd. I’m just going to pummel this guy senseless…Or maybe I’m going to knock some sense into him." Matt is extremely confident of a win over JT and is excited to have such a high calibre of training partners to help prepare him for the contest. "Oh, we have a great bunch of guys here. Randy (Couture) is back from Vegas. All the Team Quest guys…"
The upcoming Sportfight is expected to attract a bumper crowd, partly due to the high standard of fighters the competition is attracting, partly to the success of the previous events, and also due to Matt’s competing so close to home. "We have a great event up here in Oregon. Like I said, it’s my eighth show, and it’s been growing every time. We’re looking at packing the place to the rafters. I think, fighting at my own show in front of my home town will help put the people in the stands. "We have a very solid card. There’s Ryan Schultz vs Keith Wilson - that’s a big fight. Ryan is one of my guys. He’s easily a top-five, 155 pounder in the world. I actually wrestled him in the semi finals in the US Nationals, so I know he’s a top wrestler, and he’s got a decent MMA record. "There’s Jeff Monson, an Abu Dhabi champion. He fought in UFC and PRIDE. I’d say they’re the big international stars. The rest of them are top fighters, but they’re mainly known here in the North-West. They’ll be using Sportfight as an opportunity to prove themselves for bigger competitions, such as UFC." For his next Octagon appearance, Lindland hopes to be fighting at UFC 52 in April. Although he isn’t concerned as to who his opponent may be, there is one fighter - victorious in UFC 50 - that Matt would prefer to be matched with. "I’d like to fight that Rich Franklin guy. He looks pretty tough."
Matt, can you give a brief breakdown of your average training week? "There’s not really an average week. I can just tell you that it varies from day to day, and week to week, depending on how close I’m getting to a fight. But it’s pretty typical for me to train four hours a day – on the mat or off the mat, but at least two hours on the mat every day, five or six days a week." Do you do a lot of weights? "Recently, I have been…two to three times per week. Again, I mix that up, depending on how far off my next fight is. If a fight’s coming right up, I’ll probably back off power and do more reps." Hey, Matt, what’s the story on your having "Rowdy" Rod Piper as a special guest at Sportfight? "Do you know who he is?" He’s the pro wrestler, isn’t he? He’s a funny bloke. "Yeah, he’s funny. He’s going to come out and watch the fight. He’s a fan." So besides the professional wrestling, is he a legitimate fighter? "Oh yeah, he’s a black belt under Gene LeBell. He’s gotta know his stuff, having a black belt under Gene LeBell." Tickets to Sportfight are selling quickly. For bookings and more info: www.sportfight.tv SPORTFIGHT 8: Justice Main Card: For the Ultimate Street Defence Manual click here Thanks for visiting knucklepit. Be sure to come back soon for new UFC, MMA, & Self Defense articles |
