Matthew James Lindland (born May 17, 1970), also known as The Law, is an American retired mixed martial artist,

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

wrestler, speaker, actor, coach, entrepreneur and politician. He won the Oregon Republican Party's nomination for the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

, District 52 seat on May 20, 2008. He also started an apparel company named Dirty Boxer. In mixed martial arts, Lindland competed primarily in the

Middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division for the UFC,

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

Affliction Affliction or Afflicted may refer to: Books * ''Affliction'' (novel), a 2013 Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel by Laurell K. Hamilton * ''Affliction'', a novel by Russell Banks, basis of the 1998 film Film and TV * ''Affliction'' (1997 film), ...

, the

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Cage Rage Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and ma ...

, the WFA, and BodogFIGHT.

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, he 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 The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

style. The high point 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 three 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 ''UFC 29: Defense of the Belts'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 16, 2000 at Differ Ariake Arena in Kōtō ward, Tokyo, Japan. History The event was the last UFC to be held in Japan until the ...

, Lindland managed to secure a silver medal at the world championships and a U.S. National title in 2001. He 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, whom 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, 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 The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

was denied, which settled Lindland's status on the team. Lindland would later earn his nickname "The Lawyer" from the protracted case. After the Olympics Lindland 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 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor (company), End ...

. Lindland's next loss came at the hands of

Falaniko Vitale Falaniko "Niko" Vitale is a retired American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division and has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, Bellator Fighting Championships, Bellat ...

, 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 Jay Dee "B.J." Penn III (born December 13, 1978) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. Penn competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and in K-1. Penn was the first American Go ...

's bout against Georges St-Pierre. He has also continued his professional MMA career in

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 The World Fighting Alliance (WFA) was a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States. Owned and organized by mixed martial arts, MMA legend and trainer John Lewis (Promoter/Match Maker) and nightclub operator and "Club Rubber" prom ...

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 TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

early in the second round. He then beat

Carlos Newton Carlos Newton (born August 17, 1976) is an Anguillian-born Canadian retired mixed martial artist. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion and Pride FC Japan MMA Legend. Known as "The Ronin", he competed worldwide in the biggest MMA organizatio ...

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 January 24, 2009, he was defeated by Vitor Belfort. Lindland is the former coach of the

Portland Wolfpack The Portland Wolfpack were a team in the now-defunct International Fight League and based in Portland, Oregon. The Wolfpack were coached by Olympic silver medalist in Greco Roman Wrestling, Matt Lindland. The Wolfpack were established in the midd ...

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

Lindland was choked unconscious by Mamed Khalidov at KSW 16. There is currently a documentary called "Fighting Politics" about Lindland 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. In 2021, Lindland was promoted to the rank of black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, by

Renzo Gracie Renzo Gracie (; born March 11, 1967) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family of Brazil, Renzo is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is the so ...

Personal life and politics

Matt Lindland and his wife Angie have two children, a son, Big Jim, and a daughter. Since retiring from MMA Lindland has pursued other sports such as professional rafting, achieving an impressive six 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. He does seminars all over the world as well as public speaking. On March 11, 2008, Lindland filed as a Republican to run for the

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 Suzanne VanOrman (born July 1939) is an American politician from Oregon. A Democrat, she was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, first elected in 2008. VanOrman, who resides in Hood River, represents District 52, which includes all ...

by around 52% to Lindland's 48%.

Film and television

Lindland appears in the award-winning MMA documentary '' Fight Life'', released in 2013. The film was directed by James Z. Feng and produced by RiLL Films. Matt Lindland and Ed Herman guest starred on the TV series '' Leverage'' on July 22, 2011. Lindland played an MMA fighter. Lindland 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 film ''New York Minute'', again acting and performing stunts.

Coaching

Lindland 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, he also started working with Chael Sonnen at West Linn High School. In 1996, Lindland moved back to Lincoln, Nebraska to take a job as an assistant wrestling coach at the University of Nebraska where he coached until 2000. During his tenure at Nebraska, Lindland coached NCAA champions and multiple All-Americans. He continues to work with USA Wrestling to this day. In 2000, Lindland started coaching wrestling and MMA at his Team Quest gym in Portland, Oregon. He is still coaching wrestling, kickboxing, MMA, and the professional and amateur fight teams at Team Quest. In 2013 he was selected as the World team coach for the US Greco-Roman wrestling team. Lindland 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 a Distinguished Member, for his accomplishments in wrestling including winning a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics and a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships.

Championships and accomplishments

*International Fighting Championship **IFC 6 Tournament winner

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 22–9 , Mamed Khalidov , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , KSW 16: Khalidov vs. Lindland , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 , Gdańsk, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–8 , Robbie Lawler , KO (punches) , Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

St Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 22–7 , Kevin Casey , TKO (punches) , Strikeforce Challengers: Lindland vs. Casey , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:41 , Portland, Oregon, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–7 , Ronaldo Souza , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Strikeforce: Evolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:18 , San Jose, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 21–6 , Vitor Belfort , KO (punches) , Affliction: Day of Reckoning , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 , Anaheim, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–5 , Fabio Nascimento , Decision (unanimous) , Affliction: Banned , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Anaheim, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–5 , Fedor Emelianenko , Submission (armbar) , BodogFIGHT: Clash of the Nations , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 , St. Petersburg, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 20–4 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , IFL: Houston , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:43 ,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–4 , Jeremy Horn , TKO (punches) , IFL: Portland , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:21 , Portland, Oregon, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–4 , Quinton Jackson , Decision (split) , WFA: King of the Streets , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Los Angeles, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Mike Van Arsdale , Submission (guillotine choke) , Raze MMA: Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:38 , San Diego, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 , Fabio Leopoldo , Submission (rear-naked choke) , GFC: Gracie vs. Hammer House , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:25 ,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 , Antonio Schembri , TKO (punches) , Cage Rage 14 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:33 , London, England, UK , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 ,

Joe Doerksen Joseph Daniel Doerksen (born October 9, 1977) is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1999 until 2014, he fought in the UFC, WEC, IFL, King of the Cage, Aggression Fighting Championship, World Victory Road, RINGS, SuperBra ...

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 54: Boiling Point , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Travis Lutter , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC 52: Couture vs Liddell , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:32 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Landon Showalter , Submission (armbar) , Sportfight 8: Justice , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:43 , Gresham, Oregon, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 ,

Mark Weir Mark Anthony Weir (19 September 1967) is an English retired mixed martial artist usually fighting in the middleweight division at 185 lbs. He has fought in the UFC, the WEC, PRIDE, Cage Rage, UCMMA, Pancrase, and BodogFIGHT. He is the fo ...

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , Cage Rage 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 , London, England, United Kingdom , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 , David Terrell , KO (punches) ,

UFC 49 ''UFC 49: Unfinished Business'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 21, 2004, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and lat ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Tony Fryklund , Decision (unanimous) , ROTR 5: Rumble on the Rock 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Honolulu, Hawaii, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,

, Submission (strikes) , UFC 45 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:23 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 ,

, KO (slam) ,

UFC 43 ''UFC 43: Meltdown'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 6, 2003, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later relea ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:56 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Phil Baroni , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 41 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Ivan Salaverry , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 39 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 , Murilo Bustamante , Submission (guillotine choke) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:33 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Pat Miletich , TKO (punches) , UFC 36 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:09 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Phil Baroni , Decision (majority) , UFC 34 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Ricardo Almeida , DQ (illegal up-kicks) , UFC 31 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:21 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Yoji Anjo , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:58 , Tokyo,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Travis Fulton , Submission (choke) , IFC 6: Battle at the Four Bears , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 22:13 , New Town, North Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Mark Waters , TKO (submission to punches) , IFC 6: Battle at the Four Bears , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 , New Town, North Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Karo Davtyan , TKO (punches) , World Fighting Federation , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 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: #1 seed; did not 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

References

External links

Official website of Coach Matt Lindland
* * * *
Matt Lindland at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame

The big fat book of grappling credentials. - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindland, Matt Living people 1970 births American male mixed martial artists American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Oregon Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Olympic silver medalists for the United States in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Oregon Republicans Sportspeople from Oregon City, Oregon World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in wrestling Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Wrestlers at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni