In less than a week, Oregon's most renown mixed martial arts fighter Chael Sonnen, will take center cage in Chicago, Illinois to face the notorious British smack-talker and spit-flinger, Michael 'The Count' Bisping. On January 28th these two world-class fighters will be meeting in the co-main event on Fox's second live and free UFC show. Unlike the first show which aired in December with only one fight, this will feature three main event bouts, and at least two undercard fights as well.
The winner of this fight will more than likely be facing Anderson Silva for the UFC's middleweight championship title in the summer, and in case you haven't heard: This is a rematch that Chael Sonnen sincerely desires. But before looking ahead at what is next for Oregon's top MMA fighter, I felt there was no time better to look back at what Chael has done for the sport of MMA, especially right here in Oregon. In December, I was able to get a few minutes of time to discuss the topic with Chael Sonnen himself, as well as Team Quest founder, coach, and fighter, Matt 'The Law' Lindland.
Both Matt and Chael were born and raised right here in Oregon. Chael fights out of West Linn and has become a world-wide icon of the sport in recent years, but his wrestling credentials were earned right here at the University of Oregon. Matt Lindland has a resume a mile long, with many MMA and wrestling championships including a silver medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Lindland spoke of his initial interest in pursuing the sport.
“Coming back from the Olympics and wrestling, I wanted to pursue mixed martial arts at all levels. I started a gym, I started representing fighters, I wanted to put on fights, and I didn't want a state government telling me what I can and can't do with my time and my resources.”
The gym that Matt so casually references is the thing of legends. The original Team Quest which was founded in the garage of a used car lot only to produce champion after champion such as MMA originals Dan Henderson, and Randy Couture.
“There was a law in the books in Oregon that said 'No holds barred fighting is illegal', and we weren't doing 'no holds barred' fighting, so we felt we were well within our rights. The law stated that a no holds barred was defined as a fight without rules, and we had plenty of rules and regulations involved. We had our own officials, doctors, referees, judges, and all the stuff that comes with it, but we just weren't going through the state of Oregon.”
“It was a huge education process. First of all trying to educate people that this wasn't a no-holds-barred fight. This was an actual sport that had been going on at the time for almost a decade.”
Chael spoke about the process of bringing the sport to the attention of the state of Oregon as at the time he was beginning to host and promote his own Oregon based fight company, the Full Contact Fighting Federation.
“We were trying to bring in mixed martial arts and the commissions didn't fully know how to look at that. So there was a battle, there was some real resistance. I ended up in court seven times against the state of Oregon, and defeated them all seven times. And we finally started to say to the state, 'Hey, why don't you guys start to regulate this as well'. It's real easy to break those preconceived notions, and begin to welcome the regulations and the business side of the sport.”
“Oregon is a leader in MMA, a founder in many different areas. We went out and got a law changed, and I challenge anyone out there to even explain that process. It's an extremely sophisticated process,
and we got it done because the state wanted to do it. The governor liked it, the congress liked it, the senate liked it, and we've opened up a lot of opportunity.”
“Opportunity exists in Oregon. Oregon is a hotbed for this sport, really from the beginning. Like anything, it starts with opportunity. It's the old, 'if you build it, they will come' type of theory, we built the environment and then the athletes came. A lot of people believe we built the athletes. I'd love to take credit for that but it's just not true. We built this environment, the athletes created themselves.”
Athletes such as Chris Leben, Nate Quarry, Ed Herman, and Evan Dunham immediately come to mind. Oregon fighters have some common traits that bring success inside the sport of MMA, such as hard work, dedication, and a mixture of martial arts skills with a strong wrestling base that has proven effective at the highest levels of competition. A toughness resides in these Oregon fighter's that Lindland chalks up to what he calls the Pioneer Spirit.
“Some guys embrace that pioneer spirit. The pioneer spirit in my mind is the guys that were willing to endure those hardships. The guys who weren't as tough just hung out in the plains or never left the east coast. They didn't cross the mountains, the Rockies and the Cascades and make it here into the valley. My impression of Oregon fighters are the pioneers who come over and put in the time and make those sacrifices to make it to this side of the country.”
“When you see a guy that does have national talent, gifts and abilities, like a Chael Sonnen, and they're willing to put in the work in with it, that's where we're seeing guys rise to the top of the sport.”
On Jan. 28th tune in to UFC on Fox 2 as Chael Sonnen will defend his number one contender status against Michael Bisping, and will gladly be representing Oregon as he enters the Octagon. So make sure to not miss this monumental fight.
When I asked Chael why he remains a pillar in the Oregon community, he gave me exactly what you would expect from the fastest tongue, and baddest man in mixed martial arts today: a perfect answer.
“I'm from Oregon, and I'm never going to leave. I don't have any business reason for staying here, I just have a personal commitment. This is my state, my community, my family, they are all here in Oregon. I will proudly die here.”
