Meet The Coach

As one of the founders of Team Quest MMA in Portland, Oregon, Coach Matt Lindland is one of the world’s most renowned and respected coaches in wrestling and MMA.

Matt Lindland attended Clackamas Community College and won a NJCAA National title before matriculating to the University of Nebraska where he went 33-1 his senior year and won the Big 8 title. That same year Matt won a free-style National Title at the University Level.

A year after college Matt won his second National Title in Free-Style and won the Pan-Americans that same year beating Alberto Rodriguez Hernandez from Cuba. Matt had a tough decision to make, Free-Style or Greco-Roman, so he entered both styles at the US Open where he made it to the quarterfinals in Free-Style and semifinals in Greco.

Matt ultimately decided to focus on Greco-Roman and that same year Matt moved to Colorado Springs to train full-time at the Olympic Training Center and made the US National Greco-Roman Team. Matt made his first World Team in 1997 and kept his number 1 spot on the US team he retired from wrestling after he won the Olympic Silver medal and World medal in 2001.

Matt fought No Holds Barred in 1997 after seeing his teammate Randy Couture fight in the UFC, but Matt put MMA on hold so he could accomplish his wrestling goals. After winning the silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Matt jumped right into the UFC in December of that same year.

Coach Matt started his coaching career in 1993 after finishing his collegiate wrestling career.

Matt 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, Matt also started working with Chael Sonnen at West Linn High School. In 1996, Matt moved back to Lincoln, NE to take a job as an assistant wrestling coach at the University of Nebraska where he coached until 2000. During his tenure at Nebraska, Coach Matt coached NCAA champions and multiple All-Americans. Matt continues to work with USA Wrestling to this day.

In 2000, Matt started coaching wrestling and MMA at his Team Quest gym in Portland, Oregon. Coach Matt coached wrestling, kickboxing, MMA, and the professional and amateur fight teams at Team Quest.

In July of 2014 Matt Lindland was appointed the Head Coach & CEO of Greco-Roman Wrestling for USA Wrestling, overseeing the entire program for the US national wrestling team. Matt coached for two Olympic Wrestling seasons in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Coach Matt Lindland has returned as Head Coach of Team Quest Portland and currently resides in Oregon. In 2024 he is a partner in the Father’s Heart Combat Sports Outreach, a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged young athletes get involved in mixed martial arts like jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing.

international wrestling achievements

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS ACHIEVEMENTS

• Co-Founder & owner of the world famous Team Quest Fight Club 

• Professional Fight Record 22 wins - 9 losses

• Competed at the highest levels of MMA:
  UFC, Strikeforce, Affliction, Bodog Fight, WFA & IFL

• Co-Founder & Promoter for SportFight, the premier professional mixed martial arts organization in the Pacific Northwest

• Head Coach for the International Fight League's Portland Wolf Pack