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Going For the Gold:
Matt Lindland Sets His Sights on
the UFC Middleweight Title
By Loretta Hunt

      Regardless of the outcome of UFC 37's "High Impact" middleweight title bout on May 10th, competitor Matt Lindland can already be considered a champion. Having wrestled since the age of fifteen, he is one of the most highly decorated athletes to ever grace the UFC Octagon. His sixteen year wrestling career has spanned high school state placings, college championships, multiple appearances on the National, World, and Olympic Teams steadily since 1993, and has culminated with a Silver medal in Greco-Roman Wrestling at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Since his UFC debut in late 2000, Lindland has stacked up four victories on the road to the Middleweight title, yet still remains one of the lesser-known competitors of the sport. Happily married and a father of two, this reserved yet extremely focused athlete never dreamed that he would be "going for the gold" again -- UFC gold that is, in the shape of the Middleweight belt. His opponent, the formidable Murilo Bustamante, will be defending the belt for the first time, yet Lindland seems more than ready for the task. As fans become more familiar with this wrestler turned fighter, it becomes clear that losing is simply not an option with Matt Lindland.
      Contrary to opinion, Matt Lindland is no stranger to the limelight. In his bid for a spot on the 2000 Olympic Wrestling Team, he was unwillingly propelled into it when an Olympic qualifier match was awarded to his opponent. "I had beaten Keith Sieracki nine times in a row prior to this. The final Olympic matches with him and I were scored completely incorrectly" he recalls. Knowing he had actually won the match, Lindland went through various stages to have the verdict appealed. The case finally went to "final and binding arbitration", where it was decided that Lindland had won the match decisively. Although Sieracki appealed this decision all the way to the Supreme Court, his case was still denied. Lindland didn't actually find out he'd be on the team till the day he left for his Olympic processing and although he went on to win an Olympic Silver Medal, he admits the ordeal was taxing. " I don't think it helps you focus on what you've got to do. I was just focusing on getting on the team, when I knew I should have been there anyway." The case garnered much publicity from prominent press outlets like The Wall Street Jour nal and USA Today, and when he eventually made the crossover to MMA, his new counterparts would dub him with the nickname "The Law."
      Even though many wrestlers have had past success and continue to fair well in MMA, Lindland originally didn't see a future for himself in the sport. "I followed it [the UFC] in the beginning and then it kinda went off cable and just like most every other fan, I quit watching it." When Lindland watched these early shows, he thought that it would be something that he'd like to do, but it never really crossed his mind that he'd actually one day be competing in the sport. A chance opportunity to compete in a local event got the ball rolling.
      "I fought back in 1997 and early 1998," recalls Lindland, referring to his first three MMA victories with the World Fighting Federation and the IFC. "It was spur of the moment deal. I didn't train for either of those events in MMA. I just trained my wrestling and then went in with that." Lindland had originally contacted Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG), the former owners of the UFC, following these wins. However, the timing was not quite right and with the Olympics approaching, Lindland again refocused on the sport he had trained practicall y all his life for. A true competitor is always looking for his next challenge and following his Olympic win two years later, Lindland again contacted the UFC. SEG decided then and there to give him his shot in the Octagon. "Probably coming off of an Olympic medal helped, along with the fact that I had some prior MMA experience," says Lindland of his big break. With only three months to prepare for his UFC premiere, Lindland decided to make the move with his family out to Oregon to train with then-UFC heavyweight champion and friend Randy Couture, joining his Team Quest camp. "I've wrestled with Randy and Dan [Henderson] forever. We've been on world and national teams forever, so we'd go on these tournaments overseas where we'd spend weeks together. We'd train with each other at the same camps, so we got to know each other very well over the years. Randy and I have been friends since college, so it was a pretty easy decision. I actually moved back to my hometown of Eagle Creek and Randy lived one town over. It was really convenient." The move paid off, as Lindland made fast work of his opponent Yoji Anjo at his UFC 29 debut in Japan, defeating him with strikes three minutes into the first round. Shortly after, Team Quest would move its training facilities to a warehouse behind Lindland's car lot business.
      Lindland's second UFC 31 appearance ended with the disqualification of his opponent, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Ricardo Almeida and although he got the win, fans seemed unimpressed with Lindland's wrestling-heavy style. In his next fight with former amateur boxer Phil Baroni at UFC 34, Lindland got the chance to turn the tables on the critics, putting in a versatil e performance that cemented his position in the middleweight class. "They put us in a unique position that night with three undercard fights, by saying 'Okay, whoever has the most exciting fight, not the best fight, not who goes and knocks the guy out, but who has the most exciting fight -- that's the one that's gonna get shown on TV.' Of course you want your match on TV. So, I tried to open up in that fight and really not force one style. I tried different things. That's the fight where I brought out the kicks and tried to open up some stuff." The gamble obviously paid off as Lindland was paired next with veteran fighter Pat Miletich, the winner guaranteed the next crack at the Middleweight title. This last fight at UFC 36 definitely turned some heads, as Lindland scored a flawless takedown on former welterweight champion Pat Miletich in the first round before moving in for the TKO stoppage with strikes. As with most of Lindland's fights, he went in as the underdog, most not choosing to believe he could take on the seasoned Miletich, even though the Iowa native was moving up to a new weight class to compete. "Yea. I saw the polls and the odds on that fight, so I think a lot of people didn't expect me to go in there and win." In fact, Lindland seems to be the consistent underdog in all his fights, and when asked why he thinks that is so, he replies, " I don't know why. I don't know who picks those. I'm neutral on it, really. I have my own feeling about the fights and how I fare going into each fight. I'm pretty confident or I wouldn't take the fights, I guess. I think I'm going to win every time I step into the Octagon. As far as being the underdog, exactly who's deciding that?"
      Maybe fans underestimate Lindland's abilities becau se they usually know less about him then the opponents he faces. As one of the sport's figures that seems less-hungry for the fanfare, one can not help but ask if that is not by choice. "I guess maybe I'm just not flamboyant enough to get as much [press] as the other fighters," he ponders. "It's not a choice. I haven't chosen to stay out. I think being a popular fighter can only help your pay. It can only help your marketability. Being in the press -- that's something I don't want to avoid. I think some of the fighter's have fallen into those positions from the way they are, while a lot of other fighters actually go out and market and promote themselves. I really don't have time to do that. I'm more focused on training and winning."
      No one can blame Lindland for wanting to place his attention on his training. After all, that is how champions are made. What exactly has Lindland been focusing his attention on to become a better fighter? "I've definitely been training the submi ssion part of the equation. That's an easy element to add to my wrestling. It's basically a different style of wrestling. Submissions and wrestl ing seem to go hand in hand. There's no magic in submissions. It's just learning it and constantly drilling it and working on techniques. The hardest part is adding the striking. I feel like my stand-up and my punches are coming along. Obviously, my kicks weren't working and I need a lot more work on those, but I think all those things will come. If I didn't have anything to improve on, I'd probably be done. You can always learn and improve."
      With his bout with Murilo Bustamante just days away, Lindland has most likely already studied his opponent's ten year career closely. As a member of Top Team, Bustamante's training will be impeccable, but Lindland's Team Quest training must not be taken lightly either. Where does Lindland see the match going? "I think his stand-up's greatly improved, but I think mine has too and nobody has really seen my stand-up" says Lindland. "It wasn't that much on the feet with Pat and I didn't want to challenge my stand-up against Pat's either. I don't think Murilo has as good of stand-up as Pat does, but he's probably better on the ground. We each have our own strengths and weaknesses going into this fight. He's obviously good at submissions and I've been working on mine. I'm a better wrestler, but I'm sure he's been working on his wrestling. Personally, I think it makes for a great fight."
      Having already accomplished so much in his relatively short life, the 32 year old Lindland has his sights set on yet another prize. He's says after he wins the UFC belt, he wants to defend it to the best that the UFC Middleweight class has to offer. He believes Dave Menne would be a more than worthy opponent, but does not rule out the likes of up-and-comers Phil Baroni and Andrei Semenov.
      Back on his six-acre farm in Oregon, Lindland says he would eventually like to get into the training and raising of horses once his time with the sport is done, however, that time is still quite a ways off for the former Olympian. Speaking with Matt Lindland, one becomes acutely aware that he is an athlete in its purist form -- determined yet humble, focused yet flexible. Winning is in Matt Lindland's blood, and it makes one wonder if May 10th just might turn out to be another display of this.
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