Matt Lindland: Record, Net Worth, Weight, Age & More!
Who is Matt Lindland?
Matt “The Law” Lindland is an American mixed martial artist, Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling, and a prolific coach and speaker. Beyond his amazing work in the world of martial arts, Matt has also dabbled in acting and politics. He remains one of the most memorable and outspoken members in the history of the UFC roster.
What this article covers:
- Who is Matt Lindland?
- How Old is Matt Lindland?
- How Much Does Matt Lindland Weigh?
- Matt Lindland Fight List
- Matt Lindland's Best Fight of All Time
- Matt Lindland Record
Lindland began wrestling later than many who achieve such high heights in the sport: at the age of 15. His first experience was wrestling as part of his high school’s wrestling team. He took to it right away and worked hard to become one of the best on his team. By 1991, when Lindland was 21, he became the junior college national champion at 158 pounds while wrestling out of Clackamas Community College.
Soon his NCAA Division I dreams would become reality, when the young wrestling star found his way on to the University of Nebraska’s squad and won the 1993 Big Eight Championship at the same weight of 158 pounds. He was ranked number one with a 36-0 record in that 1993 season. Although he was expected to perform well at the NCAA tournament that year, Lindland suffered an upset defeat early on and wasn’t able to place for the day.
This defeat shifted Lindland’s focus, who now turned his attention to the post-collegiate wrestling scene, finding a home among both Freestyle and Greco-Roman athletes. He eventually settled on Greco, and worked hard to become one of the nation’s best in the 69-76 Kg weight class. He achieved just that, and in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he won a Silver Medal for the United States.
Learn the tricks of the DIRTY BOXER from Olympic Medalist and MMA Legend Matt Lindland!
Although he was already competing in MMA since about 1998, he also refused to give up his love of wrestling tournaments. Lindland continued to compete internationally and found himself in a similar spot the following year, where he won a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships at 85 kilograms.
The same year he won his second international silver medal, Matt also had his first match in the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion, the UFC. He debuted on UFC 29 and managed to TKO Yoji Anjo with only his hands in the very first round. As an Olympic silver medalist and an MMA knockout artist, Matt Lindland had truly become one of the most intimidating fighters on the planet in 2001.
He maintained a top spot in both sports over the next three years. As a wrestler, he was ranked top ten nationally until 2004 when he retired from that sport. During that same three year stretch, Lindland had also become a truly experienced pro fighter, competing in 12 pro bouts and challenging for a title against Murilo Bustamante on UFC 37.
Lindland competed frequently in the early days of the UFC and was one of it’s biggest stars. Along the way, he had some truly memorable moments including one self-knockout from a slam. He trained with MMA legends like Dan Henderson, Randy Couture, and other members of Team Quest. All told, Lindland would win 9 of his 12 UFC fights before leaving the roster in 2005 to compete in Strikeforce, Affliction, and other promotions.
Even after his departure from the UFC, he continued to use his Olympic pedigree to coach other top UFC stars to more success, including B.J. Penn. Usually, once a fighter leaves the UFC, the caliber of their competition goes down dramatically. Not so with Lindland.
Although he fought some definite monsters in the UFC, just take a look at the insanely star-studded list of opponents that Matt took on outside of the UFC: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Fedor Emelianenko, Vitor Belfort, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and Robbie Lawler. All of these opponents were champions in the UFC or Strikeforce except for the one who is sometimes tossed around in the GOAT Conversation, Fedor. Matt Lindland fought against some of the best athletes that combat sports has ever produced, proving that he too was one of the best.
As he was winding down his fighting career, which officially concluded in 2011, Lindland was also proving that he had more to offer the world by running for political office. He won the primaries in the race for House of Representatives for the 52nd district of Oregon, only to be defeated by 4% in the general election. That Lindland could even come close to winning political office after a lifetime spent on the mats is a testament to his intelligence and capability.
Both during and after his competitive career, Lindland also coached wrestling frequently. He has worked with other greats of the sport like Chael Sonnon and B.J. Penn. He’s been a coach on Team Quest for over 20 years now, and in that time has made a huge impact on the sports of both MMA and wrestling.
In October of 2013, Matt Lindland earned his spot in the Hall of Champions. He became a Distinguished member for his wrestling achievement that culminated in both Olympic and a World Championship silver medals. Lindland stands out as one of the most prolific competitors and coaches in the formative years of MMA.
How Old is Matt Lindland?
Matt Lindland was born on the 17th of May in 1970. He is 52 years old as of May 2022.
Matt Lindland Family
Matt Lindland is married to his wife Angie and has two children. The family was very supportive of Lindland both during his mma career and during his political career, which put the whole family in the spotlight together.
How Much is Matt Lindland Worth?
Matt Lindland’s net worth is not public information, but he is one of the most well-known wrestlers and UFC stars in history, and has dabbled in many other endeavors, including car sales, politics, and acting..
How Tall is Matt Lindland?
Matt Lindland is 6’0”, making him an average, if not slightly stocky, member of the middleweight class.
How Much Does Matt Lindland Weigh?
Matt Lindland has competed between 158 and 205 pounds over the course of his long career. He began as a 158 and 163 pound folk and freestyle wrestler and then worked his way up over the years. The biggest single jump came in 2001, when he went from 167.5 in 2000 all the way to 187 the following year– and won the same national championship for a 5th time.
Matt Lindland Fight List
Matt Lindland was a wrestler and based purely on that, we’d never be able to list out the hundreds of matches that a high school, collegiate, and international competitor has seen. In addition to his lengthy professional grappling career, he also fought some of the toughest MMA fighters of all time in the UFC, as well as in strikeforce and other leagues. Instead of a match by match breakdown, let’s take a look at an overview of what Lindland accomplished across the world of combat sports:
Folkstyle (Collegiate) Wrestling
- 1991 National Junior Collegiate Champion at 158 pounds.
- 36-0 in 1991 Season
- #1 Seed in NCAA Division 1 Tournament
Freestyle Wrestling
- 1992 USA University Freestyle Champion at 163 pounds
- 1994 USA University Freestyle Champion at 163 pounds
Greco-Roman (Olympic) Wrestling
- 1995 USA Senior Greco-Roman Champion at 163 pounds
- 1998 USA Senior Greco-Roman Champion at 167.5 pounds
- 1998 FILA World Championships: 6th Place at 168
- 1999 USA Senior Greco-Roman Champion at 167.5 pounds
- 2000 USA Senior Greco-Roman Champion at 167.5 pounds
- 2001 FILA World Championships: 2nd place at 187 pounds
- 2001 USA Senior Greco-Roman Champion at 187 pounds
Submission Grappling
- Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Competitor
- 1-2 lifetime record with a win over Yushin Okami
- Only losses to champions “Jacare” Souza and Fabricio Werdum
MMA
- 22-9 professional record spanning fourteen
- 9-3 in the UFC
- Competed in every major pro league of his time: Strikeforce, Affliction, KSW, IFL, GFC, Sportfight, Cage Rage, IFC, WFA, and BodogFight.
- Fought at both middleweight and light heavyweight against some of the biggest names in combat sports history.
- Challenged Murilo Bustamante for the UFC middleweight title.
Matt Lindland's Best Fight of All Time
For a fighter like Matt Lindland, it’s hard to pin down one amazing moment in a career full of highlights. His very first fight in the UFC was only his fourth professional fight, and that makes his knockout victory over Yoji Anjo all the more impressive.
Learn the tricks of the DIRTY BOXER from Olympic Medalist and MMA Legend Matt Lindland!
The Japanese fighter had built a name for himself overseas, much like Lindland had done while wrestling internationally. When the two squared off, it seemed like a fight that would take some time to decide. To the surprise of many, Lindland stayed away from submissions and managed to TKO Anji just minutes into the first round.
Who Did Matt Lindland Lose To?
Matt Lindland is no stranger to losses, but at least the’ve been good ones. Among the names who’ve had their hands raised against lindland: Murilo Bustamante, Rampage, Fedor, Vitor, Jacarae, and Robbie Lawler. Most athletes wouldn’t have made it out of the first one of these harrowing matches, but Matt proved again and again that he belonged there with the toughest competition on the planet.
Matt Lindland Record
Matt Lindland has an overall professional mixed martial arts record of 22-9 in his thirty one fights. Notably, he lost exactly one fight by decision during his entire career. Lindland was nothing if not an exciting fighter to watch.
Matt Lindland Injuries
Injuries come with the territory and Lindland is no exception. He once knocked himself out during an attempted slam of Fralaniko Vitale.
Is Matt Lindland Retired?
Matt Lindland is retired from professional fighting, and has been since his last match in 2011. Since about 2000, he has also been an active coach on the Team Quest squad. There, he’s grown his skills and network to become a truly crucial part of the MMA community with a far reaching impact on multiple generations of wrestlers and mixed martial artists.
Lindland was incredibly prolific as a combat sports athlete and is now doing the same in coaching, where he has branched out to produce products for both Dynamic Striking and our sister site BJJ Fanatics. Whether it’s his stand-up focused “Dirty Boxer: Clinch & Takedowns for MMA” or his ground based “Olympian Level Greco-Roman Wrestling”, there’s something fore any athlete to learn from.
Matt Lindland is among the most pedigreed athletes that we’ve had the privilege of filming with here at Dynamic Striking. Make sure you take the chance to see some instruction from one of the best minds in mixed martial arts.
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