When the legendary Dan Henderson traveled to Manchester England to fight hometown hero, and Britain’s finest, Mike Bisping, he went with an MMA legacy few will ever match. And although the Englishman took the Middleweight crown that night, we thought we might offer some MMA history to the generation of fighters who may not remember the battles between camps with names such as Miletich, Team Punnishment, Chute Boxe, Wolfslair and subject of today TEAM QUEST. When your founding members include Randy Couture and Dan Henderson attaining legendary status in the MMA world as a team could almost be thought of as a given. However for the new generation of up and coming MMA Fighters it might be a team name less well known than SBGi or ALPHA MALE. So at REVGEAREUROPE and #REVGEAR we are starting this series of Articles about the legendary Teams of Mixed Martial Arts.
Few are more deserving of legendary status than TEAM QUEST founded by Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, and Dan Henderson with facilities now located across the USA, as well as having a camp based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Team Quest’s elite wrestling base is clearly seen from its founders who between them have a century of experience in both freestyle and Greco Roman Style. Indeed Dan Henderson was an Olympic level Greco Roman wrestler who represented the USA in both 1992 and 1996 who moved to an MMA career after being defeated in the 2001 wrestling world team trials by co TQ founder Matt Lindland. Dan went on to dominate the emerging MMA Scene after fighting in a number of tournaments including UFC 2. He truly found his place in the Japanese PRIDE FC where he was to spend 7 years and also become the first MMA fighter to simultaneously hold titles in two different weight classes in a major MMA organization. Overall, Henderson went 13–5 with Pride, with 8 victories coming by stoppage, before returning to the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2007 to fight fellow PRIDE fighter Rampage Jackson in UFC 75. In a MMA career spanning 2 decades Dan Henderson comes to 2016 at age 46 to face British Fighter and UFC Middleweight Champ Mike Bisping and few would give higher than even odds in this historic match up.
Having one MMA legend as a founder is more than most teams could boast. But when the name Randy Couture is uttered in MMA circles, anyone involved in the sport for more than a few years will hold such a name in reverence since this man is a UFC hall of famer: A three-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, an interim UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and the UFC 13 Heavyweight Tournament Winner. Couture is the first of only two fighters to hold two UFC championship titles in two different divisions. His Wrestling achievements include Pan American Gold and Olympic team alternate places.
As a coach many of us first met Randy on the very first season of the Ultimate Fighter show where he demonstrated to the world his ability to grow fighters skills as well as having an excellent temperament for such a task.
Matt Lindland might not have achieved the same level of MMA Fame however his involvement in both MMA and Wrestling has seen Team Quest grown into a truly international squad. Matt fought No Holds Barred in 1997 after seeing his team mate 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 and was a tough competitor amassing 9 wins in the UFC – as well as fighting in a multitude of other promotions. He has grown Team Quest to what it is today.
Randy left TQ to pursue his own business interests but Team Quest still boasts a healthy roster of professional fighters including six who are under contract with the UFC – middleweight contender Henderson, Herman, Sonnen, Soszynski, Jake Ellenberger, Ryan Jensen and Team REVGEAR fighter Smile’n Sam Alvery.
There is no doubt TEAM QUEST are one of the first truly legendary Teams in Mixed Martial Arts. To find out more visit their website www.teamquestmma.net
