Wrestling

Lindland started wrestling at age 15 at Gladstone High School in Gladstone, Oregon. In 1991, he won the junior college 158 lbs national title wrestling for Clackamas Community College.

Lindland then went on to wrestle at the University of Nebraska, Division I of the NCAA. He won the Big Eight title at 158 in 1993. Following up that title, Lindland had a record of 36-0 for the 1993 season going into the National Tournament, and was the #1 ranked wrestler for his weight class. He suffered an upset in the first round of the tournament however, and did not place. Following his college career Lindland began to compete in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman events, finding success in both but ultimately deciding to concentrate all his effort upon the Greco-Roman style.

The highpoint of his career was when he represented the United States in Greco-Roman Wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 69-76 kg weight category, winning the silver medal, followed by a Silver medal at the 2001 World Championships in Patras, Greece at 85 kg. His mixed martial arts career had actually started 3 years prior, having fought at events such as IVC 6, and it is notable that he continued to compete in amateur wrestling as well as mma following his olympic competition. Following his first UFC match, at UFC 29, Lindland managed to secure a silver medal at the world championships and a U.S. National title in 2001. Lindland was still a top 10 ranked wrestler in his weight class for the nation until 2004, when his wrestling career finally came to an end, already being a veteran of over a dozen mma fights as well, including competing in a title match.

Lindland was notable for having secured his spot on the US Olympic team through the courts. In the finals of the United States Olympic trials, Lindland lost to Keith Sieracki, who Lindland had accused of tripping him (under the rules of Greco-Roman wrestling, athletes are not permitted the use of their legs for advantage in defense of offensive moves). After appealing, an arbitrator ordered a rematch for Lindland and Sieracki, in which Lindland won 9-0.

The USOC however sought to keep Sieracki on the team, and appealed in federal court. A federal district judge, then a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, both decided in Lindland's favor. A request for a hearing by the USOC in the Supreme Court of the United States was denied, which settled Lindland's status on the team. Lindland would later earn his nickname "The Law" from the protracted case. After the Olympics Matt returned to Oregon where he would open a used car dealership named "USA Auto Wholesale".

Mixed martial arts

Lindland started mixed martial arts training with Randy Couture, Dan Henderson and others at Team Quest. He won four fights in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship before losing to Murilo Bustamante in a championship match at UFC 37.

Lindland's next loss came at the hands of Falaniko Vitale, who Lindland attempted to slam, only to knock himself out in the process. After his dismissal from the UFC, Lindland continued to corner fighters at UFC events such as in B.J. Penn's bout against Georges St-Pierre. He has also continued his professional MMA career in IFL and BodogFight with five wins and two losses, with the two losses coming outside of his weightclass against the future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson and the former Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko. After his World Fighting Alliance loss to Jackson, Lindland joined the International Fight League, which also marked Lindland's debut as an IFL team coach - he fought against Jeremy Horn. Lindland won by TKO early in the second round. He then beat Carlos Newton at IFL Houston at the 1:43 mark of Round 2 by submission due to guillotine choke. Lindland defeated Fabio Negao via unanimous decision on July 19, 2008 at Affliction: Banned in Anaheim, California. At Affliction: Day of Reckoning on the Jan 24, 2009, he was defeated by Vitor Belfort. Lindland is the former coach of the Portland Wolfpack in the International Fight League.

Strikeforce

On April 13, 2009, Lindland signed a three-fight deal with Strikeforce and made his debut against Ronaldo Souza at Strikeforce: Evolution on December 19, 2009. Lindland lost the fight via first-round submission by way of arm triangle choke.

Lindland headlined Strikeforce Challengers 8 on May 21, 2010, in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, defeating Kevin Casey.

He fought Robbie Lawler at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II on December 4, 2010. Lindland was knocked out fifty seconds into the first round.

Post-Strikeforce

Matt was choked unconscious by Mamed Khalidov at KSW 16.

There is currently a documentary called "Fighting Politics" about Matt and his MMA career.

In addition, he is a "Mixed Martial Arts Management" instructor for the online sports career training school, Sports Management Worldwide, in Portland, Oregon.

Personal life and political aspiration

See also: Oregon House of Representatives elections, 2008

Matt and his wife Angie have two children, a son and a daughter. Since retiring from MMA Matt has pursued other sports such as professional rafting. With an impressive 6 time Western White Water Series Championship thus far. He is the 2013 World Team Greco-Roman head coach as well as Head Coach at Team Quest. Matt does seminars all over the world as well as public speaking.

On March 11, 2008, Lindland filed as a Republican to run for the Oregon House of Representatives in District 52. The seat was formerly held by Republican Patti Smith. Lindland defeated fellow Republican Phyllis Thiemann in the May 20, 2008 primary, 58 to 42 percent. He advanced to the general election and was defeated by Hood River, Oregon Democrat Suzanne VanOrman by around 52 percent to Lindland’s 48 percent.

Film and Television

Lindland appears in the award-winning MMA documentary Fight Life, released in 2013. The film is directed by James Z. Feng and produced by RiLL Films.

Matt Lindland and Ed Herman guest star on the TV series Leverage July 22, 2011. He played an MMA Fighter.

Matt has also appeared in the HBO hit television show "Oz", acting and performing stunts. He was also featured in the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen blockbuster "New York Minute" again acting and performing stunts.

Coaching

Matt founded the North West kids wrestling program and coached at two of the top wrestling clubs in the U.S.; Cobra Wrestling and Peninsula. That same year, Matt also started working with Chael Sonnen at West Linn High School. In 1996, Matt moved back to Lincoln, NE to take a job as an assistant wrestling coach at the University of Nebraska where he coached until 2000. During his tenure at Nebraska, Coach Matt coached NCAA champions and multiple All-Americans. Matt continues to work with USA Wrestling to this day.

In 2000, Matt started coaching wrestling and MMA at his Team Quest gym in Portland, Oregon. Coach Matt is still coaching wrestling, kickboxing, MMA, and the professional and amateur fight teams at Team Quest. In 2013 Matt was selected as the World team coach for the US Greco-Roman wrestling team.

Matt is a volunteer assistant coach at his Alma Mater Clackamas Community College. The program has taken a u-turn Under the coaching of Coach Josh Rhoden and Matt Lindland placing high in the NJCAA National Tournament in recent years.

Hall Of Fame

In October 2013 Matt Lindland was inducted into the Hall of Champions as Distinguished Members. For his accomplishments in wrestling including winning a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics and a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships.

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
31 matches	22 wins	9 losses
By knockout	8	4
By submission	7	4
By decision	6	1
By disqualification	1	0

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	22-9	Mamed Khalidov	Technical Submission (guillotine choke)	KSW 16: Khalidov vs. Lindland	000000002011-05-21-0000May 21, 2011	1	1:35	Gdansk, Poland
Loss	22-8	Robbie Lawler	KO (punches)	Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II	000000002010-12-04-0000December 4, 2010	1	0:50	St Louis, Missouri, United States
Win	22-7	Kevin Casey	TKO (punches)	Strikeforce Challengers: Lindland vs. Casey	000000002010-05-21-0000May 21, 2010	3	3:41	Portland, Oregon, United States
Loss	21-7	Ronaldo Souza	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	Strikeforce: Evolution	000000002009-12-19-0000December 19, 2009	1	4:18	San Jose, California, United States
Loss	21-6	Vitor Belfort	KO (punches)	Affliction: Day of Reckoning	000000002009-01-24-0000January 24, 2009	1	0:37	Anaheim, California, United States
Win	21-5	Fabio Nascimento	Decision (unanimous)	Affliction: Banned	000000002008-07-19-0000July 19, 2008	3	5:00	Anaheim, California, United States
Loss	20-5	Fedor Emelianenko	Submission (armbar)	BodogFIGHT: Clash of the Nations	000000002007-04-14-0000April 14, 2007	1	2:58	St. Petersburg, Russia
Win	20-4	Carlos Newton	Submission (guillotine choke)	IFL: Houston	000000002007-02-02-0000February 2, 2007	2	1:43	Houston, Texas, United States
Win	19-4	Jeremy Horn	TKO (punches)	IFL: Portland	000000002006-09-09-0000September 9, 2006	2	0:21	Portland, Oregon, United States
Loss	18-4	Quinton Jackson	Decision (split)	WFA: King of the Streets	000000002006-07-22-0000July 22, 2006	3	5:00	Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	18-3	Mike Van Arsdale	Submission (guillotine choke)	Raze MMA: Fight Night	000000002006-04-29-0000April 29, 2006	1	3:38	San Diego, California, United States
Win	17-3	Fabio Leopoldo	Submission (rear-naked choke)	GFC: Gracie vs. Hammer House	000000002006-03-03-0000March 3, 2006	3	3:25	Columbus, Ohio, United States
Win	16-3	Antonio Schembri	TKO (punches)	Cage Rage 14	000000002005-12-03-0000December 3, 2005	3	3:33	London, England, UK
Win	15-3	Joe Doerksen	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 54: Boiling Point	000000002005-08-20-0000August 20, 2005	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	14-3	Travis Lutter	Submission (guillotine choke)	UFC 52: Couture vs Liddell	000000002005-04-16-0000April 16, 2005	2	3:32	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	13-3	Landon Showalter	Submission (armbar)	Sportfight 8: Justice	000000002005-01-08-0000January 8, 2005	1	2:43	Gresham, Oregon, United States
Win	12-3	Mark Weir	TKO (doctor stoppage)	Cage Rage 9	000000002004-11-27-0000November 27, 2004	1	5:00	London, England, United Kingdom
Loss	11-3	David Terrell	KO (punches)	UFC 49	000000002004-08-21-0000August 21, 2004	1	0:24	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	11-2	Tony Fryklund	Decision (unanimous)	ROTR 5: Rumble on the Rock 5	000000002004-05-07-0000May 7, 2004	3	5:00	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Win	10-2	Falaniko Vitale	Submission (strikes)	UFC 45	000000002003-11-21-0000November 21, 2003	3	4:23	Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Loss	9-2	Falaniko Vitale	KO (slam)	UFC 43	000000002003-06-06-0000June 6, 2003	1	1:56	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	9-1	Phil Baroni	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 41	000000002003-02-28-0000February 28, 2003	3	5:00	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	8-1	Ivan Salaverry	Decision (unanimous)	UFC 39	000000002002-09-27-0000September 27, 2002	3	5:00	Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Loss	7-1	Murilo Bustamante	Submission (guillotine choke)	UFC 37	000000002002-05-10-0000May 10, 2002	3	1:33	Bossier City, Louisiana, United States
Win	7-0	Pat Miletich	TKO (punches)	UFC 36	000000002002-03-22-0000March 22, 2002	1	3:09	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	6-0	Phil Baroni	Decision (majority)	UFC 34	000000002001-11-21-0000November 21, 2001	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	5-0	Ricardo Almeida	DQ (repeated fouls)	UFC 31	000000002001-05-04-0000May 4, 2001	3	4:21	Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win	4-0	Yoji Anjo	TKO (punches)	UFC 29	000000002000-12-16-0000December 16, 2000	1	2:58	Tokyo, Japan
Win	3-0	Travis Fulton	Submission (choke)	IFC 6: Battle at the Four Bears	000000001997-09-20-0000September 20, 1997	1	22:13	New Town, North Dakota, United States
Win	2-0	Mark Waters	Submission (punches)	IFC 6: Battle at the Four Bears	000000001997-09-20-0000September 20, 1997	1	2:20	New Town, North Dakota, United States
Win	1-0	Karo Davtyan	TKO (punches)	World Fighting Federation	000000001997-02-14-0000February 14, 1997	1	8:34	Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Submission Grappling

ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships

Record of opponents:

• Won: Yushin Okami.
• Lost: Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza, Fabricio Werdum (armbar)

Folkstyle Wrestling

NJCAA Collegiate Championships 1991 158 lbs: 1st place

NCAA Division 1 Tournament Seed 1993 163 lbs: 1st place

Freestyle Wrestling

USA University Freestyle Championships

1992 163 lbs: 1st place

1994 163 lbs: 1st place

Greco-Roman Wrestling

USA Senior Greco-Roman Championships

1995 163 lbs: 1st place

1998 167.5 lbs: 1st place

1999 167.5 lbs: 1st place

2000 167.5 lbs: 1st place

2001 187.2 lbs: 1st place

FILA World Championships

1998 167 lbs: 6th place

2001 187 lbs: 2nd place

US Olympics

2000 167.5 lbs: silver medal

[ Source: Wikipedia ]