Interview: Matt Lindland Talks About Business, Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva

MMA veteran Matt Lindland has been pretty busy with life outside the cage, but the Olympic silver medalist is certainly not done with the sport. Over the years, Lindland has turned into quite the businessman, doing everything from running an MMA promotion (Sports Fight), to working as an advisor for Takedown Fight Media. I spoke to Lindland on Oct. 26, and he had a few things to say about his future as an MMA fighter/promoter and his outspoken training partner Chael Sonnen.

David: I read in few places that you're in semi-retirement right now, what are the chances of you coming back to the cage?

Matt: (Starts laughing) I never said that, but the rumor has been going around. I would say the chances are very good, you'll see me in the ring [again].

David: How's your new role as an advisor for Takedown Fight Media going?

Matt: We just did our first big show here, it was a pilot event, it wasn't a live event…We're taking a more conservative approach as far as building a pilot first and selling the product first. Instead of just spending all the money and hoping we have a product that gets sold.

David: You guys must be glad with the results of the show.

Matt: It was a really exciting night…We saw knockouts, we saw submissions, we saw guys flying over the top rope into the judges table, and then the co-main, an absolute three round war.

David: Do you think Chael Sonnen should be next in line for the shot at Anderson Silva?

Matt: Absolutely, not only is [the UFC] a sporting event, it's an entertainment company. They make their money out of selling pay-per-views, selling tickets. If you look at what the fans are saying, what the media are saying, nobody is talking about anybody else but Chael versus Anderson.

David: What do you think about Silva's manager [Ed Soares] saying Chael doesn't deserve a title shot?

Matt: I don't think Anderson Silva is afraid of any man. He's a very talented, very complete fighter. He's always taken on the challengers that were presented to him. I think it's his management that doesn't have confidence in their athlete…He did get his ass kicked for the better part of five rounds, he was able to pull of the submission in the end, but that's one of the worse beatings I've ever seen in this sport and that was the pound-for-pound champion of the world. His management, his trainer, his coaches, they must not have a belief in Anderson that this is a good matchup he can win.

David is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and boxing practitioner that has watched and studied MMA for the past 6 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter.

Sources:

Personal interview with Matt Lindland

Fight and fighter information from Sherdog.com and Coachmattlindland.com

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