Friend of our site


MMA Headlines


UFC HP


Bleacher Report


MMA Fighting


MMA Torch


MMA Weekly


Sherdog (News)


Sherdog (Articles)


Liver Kick


MMA Junkie


MMA Mania


MMA Ratings


Rating Fights


Yahoo MMA Blog


MMA Betting


Search this site



Latest Articles


News Corner


MMA Rising


Audio Corner


Oddscast


Sherdog Radio


Video Corner


Fight Hub


Special thanks to...

Link Rolodex

Site Index


To access our list of posting topics and archives, click here.

Friend of our site


Buy and sell MMA photos at MMA Prints

Site feedback


Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

« | Home | »

Matt Lindland on public reaction to Chael Sonnen: “People want to tear down other successful people”

By Zach Arnold | January 18, 2011

Print Friendly and PDF

RON KRUCK: “Is there anyone that has been with you from day one?”

MATT LINDLAND: “I mean, probably the guy who’s been with me the longest is Chael Sonnen. I started coaching him when he was in High School and really one day he showed up for wrestling practice and we just told him, we’re not wrestling any more, we’re fighting and ever since that day, you know, he’s been fight training rather than Greco-Roman training.”

RON KRUCK: “And it’s no secret that one of Team Quest’s members, Chael Sonnen, is going through some personal issues right now. Have you spoken to Chael and if so how’s he doing?”

MATT LINDLAND: “Chael’s doing good. Chael’s doing, you know, fine, as he can be expected. He is having some troubles. This is a difficult season for him. He’s had, you know, the whole California thing going on and then now he’s got the mortgage deal going on and this is a really good opportunity for Chael to grow from this and learn a lot of valuable lessons and come out the other side a stronger, better person, you know, hopefully a better fighter even. You know, this is going to make him really tough. This is a tough situation. If a guy can get through this and come out the other side of it, he should be able to apply those principles that he learned, you know, for toughness and coming through adversity to his fight game and, you know, I think that might be the only element that Chael’s lacking is that adversity and coming out on the other side a victor, you know, through the adversity.”

RON KRUCK: “That’s a great answer. How is Team Quest supporting their teammate during this difficult time?”

MATT LINDLAND: “Any way we can. Honestly, Team Quest and me and whatever Chael needs. If he needs to take a day off and not come in, then that’s what he needs. If, you know, he’s gone too long I’m going to go over and grab him and throw him in my truck and drag him over to practice. But, you know, I mean last night was just about me going over there and showing up and saying, hey I’m here for you if you need us and just kind of opening that and saying, you know, don’t think because when you just start wrapping your head around things, you know, you got all these crazy thoughts, everybody’s going to hate me, nobody’s going to like me, man I can’t go in there, and I don’t want that to ever be the case with Chael or any of our guys, you know.

“Everybody makes mistakes. I mean, nobody’s perfect and we’re all going to make mistakes. It’s just unfortunate that everybody gets to see your mistakes. You’re on a big stage. I mean, you’re a top contender in this sport, you ran for political office, you’re a name. People want to tear down other successful people. And when you make mistakes it’s like, ah see, I knew you weren’t perfect and they want to say those things about you and Chael’s not perfect. He never claimed to be but, you know, people put him up on a pedestal a little bit. Certainly not me, I know what a scum bag he is. And it’s okay, you know, we’re all growing, we’ll all getting better, you know, every step of the way it’s about, you know, growth and maturity and coming through adversity and I think this is a really good opportunity for him to grow.”

RON KRUCK: “If he gets through all this, returns to the Octagon, and gets another shot at Anderson Silva, does he beat him next time?”

MATT LINDLAND: “Absolutely. Absolutely. If Chael gets through this, he gets back on track, we get in the gym, we’re training, we’re preparing, and he knows how much struggle this was. Fighting’s going to be easy. Fighting’s going to be easy compared to what he’s been going through.”

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

5 Responses to “Matt Lindland on public reaction to Chael Sonnen: “People want to tear down other successful people””

  1. garth says:

    wait…because chael sonnen made fun of lance armstrong’s cancer, and got caught roiding, and got convicted of a crime, people are “tearing him down”?

    I can’t believe what an easy ride sonnen is getting from the UFC and the press…the guy is a grade-A scumbag. i hope he never makes it back to the UFC.

  2. 45 Huddle says:

    There is something weird in the water in Oregon.

    Matt Lindland, Chael Sonnen, Randy Couture, The Roloffs…. Even send in ballots still for the presidential election.

    Lindland is clueless.

  3. EJ says:

    In a weird way after all of this crazyness I expect to see Chael come back better than before. It’s crazy to think he’s been dealing with this case for years and still doing what he’s been doing. The guy has become a known product now and will get even more attention in his return than before. He still has the best skills to beat Anderson Silva and by the end of the year we could be talking about Sonnen as the comeback fighter of the year and new MW champion.

Comments

*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture.
Anti-spam image