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Interview w/ "The Law" Matt Lindland (part 2)
Reported By: Boxing Insider - 07.02.2003 02:16 AM
PART 2: “Laying Down the “LAW”
Matt, the “LAW,” Lindland talks with Boxing Insider
By Chris Colderley ©
In part 2, Lindland reflects on his training with Chuck Liddell and John Hackleman, discusses his feelings about the light heavyweight championship between Liddell and, his teammate and friend, Randy Couture, and describes his latest efforts to market Team Quest.
BoxingInsider.com: I wanted to ask you about your training. You have been training with John Hackleman on your striking. How is that coming along first of all?
Matt Lindland: Well, I will tell you how that came about. John knew I was going to fight Phil. I had talked to him before about how much respect I had for Chuck Liddell. I thought he was a great fighter, and I wanted to train with Chuck and learn from John. He [John] knew I was fighting Phil and when he called me up and said, “OK, you told me you want to come down, now come down,” I bought a ticket the next day. I went down and trained with John for a week and a half. I learned a ton. I had a great experience and he worked me really hard. It was far enough away from the fight where we could work as hard as we wanted to. It wasn’t going to affect me for the fight, all it was going to do was help me get better conditioned . . .I came home to train with my team, and I told Randy, “I am learning a ton down there, I would like you to go with me.”
When Randy is not fighting he helps me. When I have an event coming up, he helps corner me, coach me, and train me. I utilize Randy as much as I can as a coach and as mentor. I told him, “I would appreciate if you would come down, train with me, and see what John is showing me so when can go home and you can help me work on these skills.”
Randy came down with me, and of course, you know what happened: he ended up fighting Chuck. But, at that time, Randy wasn’t even seriously contemplating going down to 205 lbs. He had thought about it – toyed with the idea – but that’s about it.
Photo: MMAWeekly.com
BoxingInsider.com: How difficult was that fight [Couture versus Liddell] for your team given the relationship that you had built?
Matt Lindland: It was a tough fight. I didn’t want either one of them to lose. That was the hard part. I wanted Randy to win, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to see Chuck lose. I didn’t want either one of them to lose because I had a relationship with both of them. Randy and I had been close friends and teammates forever, wrestling at the world level and everything. I definitely wanted to make sure Randy won, and I predicted him to win just because of his confidence level and experience in the ring. I just thought Randy has been below 205 lbs. – he wrestled college at 190 lbs.; he wrestled world championships at 198 lbs – he knows how to cut weight and how to prepare. For this event, I thought he was going to do fine.
BoxingInsider.com: When I watch fighters that don’t have a wrestling background, I notice they don’t finish their takedowns. In your second fight with Baroni, you never stopped. Can you take me through the mechanics of a takedown?
Matt Lindland: The mechanics of a takedown in wrestling and the mechanics of a takedown in mixed martial arts are a little different. First, you are not getting punched or kicked in wrestling. In mixed martial arts, I think the important part is not to go so low that you get kneed in the head or kicked. But, you have to get underneath the guy’s hands. He has two sets of weapons: his feet/knees and his hands. You have to come in with your head in between those levels. And, you have to enter off of one of his motions.
If your opponent throws a strike,
• you need to slip past it, enter into him, and get underneath him; or
• You need to catch it – you take the punch, roll with it, and follow it in.
When you opponent throws his hands, he’s going to bring them back to his body or his face. It’s the same thing with a kick. You have to slip it or absorb it and follow it in. When you do that, I believe you want to attack your opponent at his center. You want to attack his hips. Not necessarily at his legs or knees – a double leg or a single leg. You want to attack where his hips are – where his strength is. That’s my strategy and mechanics.
BoxingInsider.com: What are you doing now as far as marketing Team Quest and marketing yourself?
Matt Lindland: I am actually just starting to realize how important that is as far as marketing yourself, especially as a fighter. What they seem to be going for is fighters that the fans like and want to see. They are a very fan-driven organization. There’s no reason in the world Tank Abbott should ever be fighting in this day and age, and he’s fought in the last two shows. Not the last two shows – 41 and 43. Obviously the fans like him, and he’s recognizable. I don’t know. We talked about the whole trash talk thing, and if I have to stoop to that level, do I really want to be that popular at that expense? It’s a hard thing to do. I don’t know exactly how to do it.
I think Frank Shamrock has done a great job. Everybody knows who he is. He’s not fighting as much anymore, but he’s fighting enough to keep his name out there. He fought within the last year, and I think it was just more so to keep his name out there. That would be my guess. He hasn’t said anything about fighting again or wanting to use that fight to get him ready for a better event. I think he’s done a great job of keeping him name out there after he was a popular fighter. How do you get to be a popular fighter? I have to figure that one out.
As far as marketing Team Quest and the brand, I think being associated with Randy and guys, like Dan Henderson can’t hurt. [Originally], Team Quest was Dan, Randy, and I. Since then we have picked up Evan Tanner, and we have some young fighters that we are trying to develop. I have a website out there – everybody has a website – but ours was pretty weak. I am working personally on building the Team Quest website. I’m not doing it, but I’m orchestrating everything in getting that out.
I have started promoting fights out here – Team Quest Production fights. My first show is going to be the 22nd of this month; there are also Team Quest seminars. I just think we need to do more of those kinds of things. But it is hard to be a fighter, be a promoter, be a fight manager, and run the website. It’s hard because it takes you away from your real job, which is fighting. I also have a family that I don’t want to neglect on top of that. You need to do all those things, but you need more than 24 hours in a day it seems like.
BoxingInsider.com: I am going to throw out some names; would you just give me your thoughts? Murilo Bustamante?
Photo: TXMMA.com
Matt Lindland: Murilo is experienced, an experienced fighter. I saw him down in Brazil when I wrestled in the Abu Dhabi tournament and we had a talk. I told him I would love to fight him in a rematch. He said he would like that too, he just has to work out his contractual issues with whoever he is going to fight with.
BoxingInsider.com: Dan Henderson?
Matt Lindland: Dan – I have to say one word – TOUGH; a physically tough and mentally tough guy. He’s a great friend and a training partner to have.
BoxingInsider.com: Any news on his status?
Matt Lindland: Dan had his knee worked on. I don’t know when he tore that knee. It looked like he tore it when he jumped up on the rope, but he hurt it that week in training. I have a feeling that was an old injury that was hanging on by a thread, and it didn’t take much to tear that thing out with all his years wrestling grinding on the knees and all the joints and parts. He’s doing better.
He also had his elbow operated on. They just cleaned out the broken pieces floating around in there. He’s fine and he said he wishes that he would have done that many years ago.
BoxingInsider.com: Any news on a return?
Matt Lindland: Dan? Definitely! He’s rehabbing the knee, and he’s looking to fight as soon as he’s healthy and training again.
BoxingInsider.com: Randy Couture?
Matt Lindland: Randy is a LEGEND, to sum it up in one word. He is my idol. He’s what inspired me to start fighting. When I saw Randy doing mixed martial arts, I thought I could do it too. Randy was living in my hometown, and I was living in Lincoln-Nebraska. I decided I needed to move home and start training with Randy. Since then, we started a gym together, a production company – putting on events, and we’re bringing in younger fighters.
He was over at my house tonight, when I came home, waiting to meet about our camp schedule. He’s a great friend of mine.
For information on Team Quest and upcoming events, click the link.
Part 3 will be published later this week.
TQFC.com - The Official site of Matt Lindland and Team Quest.
Chris Colderley is a freelance writer and a boxinginsider.com contributor.
Chris Colderley can be reached at colderley@hotmail.com
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