Ring Psychology: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on Chael Sonnen, Strikeforce and MMA with Matt Lindland

Total MMA author Jonathan Snowden and myself come back for a second round of our podcast, Ring Psychology. This time we are joined by one of Team Quest's head trainers and now a legend in the sport of MMA, Matt "The Law" Lindland. The big news from this week is his protege Chael Sonnen's performance against UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, and Matt Lindland was in Chael's corner from the beginning of the training to the end of the fight. Lindland gives us some of his views from cageside as well some of the business aspects they worked on to hype up the fight:

First of all, Chael's always been a big pro wrestling fan. First and foremost. So we studied that sport and the entertainment side of the business for a long time. And I have to give Chael all the credit for going out there and doing it. Obviously he's a very intelligent man to be able to pull that off. To get people to believe it and buy into it, to actually believe it so much that they did it with their wallet. They opened up their wallets and said 'I believe in this so much I'm going to go ahead and put my money down to see you prove it.'  That says a lot. It shows what kind of salesman he is.

Matt talks about the importance of selling a fight and selling yourself as a brand, which is something you don't hear a lot of fighters talking about, but probably should. Lindland also speaks about his own career, including his class with Sports Management Worldwide that takes a look at the "other side" of the MMA game. He also speaks about his future with Strikeforce, including the Middleweight Tournament:

I'd certainly like that, to be a part of that middleweight tournament. I think I'd make a nice addition to that show and lend some real credibility to that event. I look forward to hearing the final word- 'there will be a tournament, here is the bracket, and you'll be a part of it.' I'm looking forward to getting back in the ring. I can tell you training with Chael Sonnen and being in the room with him and still be a sparring partner that can push him...should say a lot about what kind of athlete I am.

Then to round things out, we talk to Team Quest's Dave Jansen about his first ever loss, injury and how he dealt with that. We go into details on how it is for an up-and-coming fighter when it comes to insurance, paying the bills, how to talk trash and working with sponsors while trying to make his fights exciting enough to make it to the live television broadcast. Stream the show live at Angry Marks or download it from I Tunes. Feedback appreciated.