Tom Erikson (born July 6, 1964) is an American former

amateur wrestler Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competed in the

super heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and competitive bodybuilding. Boxing In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms (200 pounds). Introduced for th ...

division. Weighing between and throughout his career, "The Big Cat" began wrestling at an early age and was twice

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

(NJCAA) Junior Collegiate Champion at

Triton College Triton College is a public community college in River Grove, Illinois. History Junior College District 300 was voted into existence in a referendum in March 1964. In March 1965, a second referendum was passed approving the purchase of an campus ...

before achieving

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) Division I honors twice at

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Oklahoma State University–Stillwater (officially Oklahoma State University; informally Oklahoma State, OK State, OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act. Originall ...

. Erikson was the 1997 U.S. National Champion, and a member of the 1997 U.S. Senior Freestyle World Team, placing fourth in the World Championships at 130 kg. He embarked on his career in MMA in 1996 and went on to fight in the

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

, being a founding member of the prestigious RAW team.MMA History XVI: Rico Chiapparelli and the RAW Team
/ref> Erikson was a long time assistant wrestling coach at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, where he has been coaching since 1997. In 2015 Tom accepted the head wrestling coach position at

Lyon College , mottoeng = Perseverance Conquers All, God Willing. , established = , type = Private college , president = Melissa Taverner , city = Batesville , state = Arkansas , country = United States , students = 665 , faculty = 61 , campus = Rural town ...

in Batesville, Arkansas. In 2020 he stepped down from his position at Lyon College, to become an assistant coach at Duke University.

Background

Erikson was a graduate of

Bloom High School Bloom High School is a public school in Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is part of Bloom Township High School District 206. The school was founded in 1900. A second Chicago Heights high school, Bloom Trail, was established in 1976 to offset overc ...

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed "The Heights". Geograp ...

. Wrestling for

, he was a two-time NJCAA National Champion in 1984 and 1985, winning the Outstanding Wrestler Award at the 1985 tournament. He was also a two-time NCAA Division I Collegiate wrestling All-American, in 1986 and 1987, while competing for

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. Erikson made the switch to the emerging sport of

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

almost ten years later.

College and International

Erikson had a good wrestling career - He was not a state qualifier at Bloom, but grew into a two-time national champion in 1984 and 1985 at Triton Junior College under the late Art Kraft. He then became a two-time All-American at Oklahoma State, placing 4th in 1986, and 3rd in 1987. After college, Erikson found early success by winning a freestyle gold medal at the 1988 Canada Cup, beating future Greco-Roman Olympic silver medalist

Matt Ghaffari Siamak "Matt" Ghaffari ( ; fa, سیامک غفاری, ; born November 11, 1961, in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran) is an Iran-born American amateur wrestler, MMA Fighter and professional wrestler. Matt Ghaffari was a two-time USA Olympic team mem ...

5–4 in the gold medal match. Erikson was highly successful in freestyle - The only problem was, so was

Bruce Baumgartner Bruce Robert Baumgartner (born November 2, 1960) is a retired American freestyle wrestler. He is the current assistant vice president for university advancement and former athletic director at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania near Erie, Pe ...

. "He was No. 2 in the world, behind Bruce, for a long time," said Olympic coach Greg Strobel. "He beat all the world champions but Bruce. He could have been a gold medal winner." Erikson was a 3-time Olympic Alternate in 1988, 1992, and 1996, losing all three times to Bruce Baumgartner in the finals to make the Olympic Team. In those three Olympic Games, Baumgartner went on to take silver in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, 1992 Olympic gold in Barcelona, and a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympic Games, held in Atlanta, Ga. "It's an emotional roller coaster," says the 6-foot-4-inch, 286-pound wrestler. "It's hard for someone to feel sympathy for me. It's like, 'Are you stupid?' But I still have a dream to be the best at it, and I try and keep a sense of humor." But the joke wears thin at times, especially because Mr. Erikson is no slouch himself. He was finally able to capture first place in the 1992 World Cup, the only year Mr. Baumgartner had sat out. "He'd have been a three-time gold medalist if it wasn't for Bruce," says Mitch Hull, national teams director for USA Wrestling and himself an alternate in the 1984 Games. Erikson was known as the 'Ultimate Never Give Up Warrior'. After 8 finals losses to Baumgartner, Erikson finally got to raise the long-awaited coveted USA Wrestling 'Stop Sign' over his head, by defeating future 2-time Olympian Kerry McCoy 7–4, to become the 1997 U.S. National Champion. After the victory, Erikson fell to his hands and knees overwhelmed with emotion. Many in the USA Wrestling community thought that an award should have been made after Erikson's retirement called the 'Tom Erikson Never Give Up Perseverance Award'. Erikson finished his career as a 15-time U.S. national medalist - winning 1 gold, 10 silver, and 4 bronze medals in the USA Wrestling national championship era, never placing below third place at any US Open. Erikson represented Team USA at the World Cup, becoming the 1992 World Cup Champion with a 5-2 signature win over Georgi Kaisimov (RUS). He was also a member of the 1997 U.S. Senior Freestyle World Team, placing fourth in the World Championships at 130 kg.

Mixed martial arts career

In 1996, Erikson was originally scouted by Richard Hamilton to fight in

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

UFC 10 ''UFC 10: The Tournament'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 12, 1996, at the Fairgrounds Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later r ...

event, but he was passed over for

Mark Coleman Mark Daniel Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride Fig ...

. Erikson then joined his friend Rico Chiapparelli, who would go to found the Real American Wrestling team with other successful wrestlers. Tom would debut before the existence of the team, being managed by Chiapparelli personally.

Martial Arts Reality Superfighting

Erikson debuted on November 22, 1996, at the ''Martial Arts Reality Superfighting'' eight-man

openweight Openweight, also known as Absolute, is an unofficial weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. It refers to bouts where there is no weight limit and fighters with a dramatic difference in size can compete against each other. It is d ...

tournament in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. In the quarter finals, Erikson defeated

sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , oly ...

fighter Aleksander Khramstovskly via KO by elbows and punches, and then submitted

Willie Peeters Willie Peeters (born October 26, 1965) is a Dutch mixed martial artist. He competed in the Heavyweight division. Biography Peeters started his career in amateur wrestling at the age of ten, training with famed champion Freddy Winters and winning ...

with a

neck crank In combat sports, a spinal lock is a multiple joint lock applied to the spinal column, which is performed by forcing the spine beyond its normal ranges of motion. This is typically done by bending or twisting the head or upper body into abnormal po ...

just thirty-one seconds into the semis; he went to meet

Murilo Bustamante Murilo Bustamante (; born 30 July 1966, in Rio de Janeiro) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion. He is one of the founders of the ''Brazilian Top Team'' and is the current leader. In addition to compe ...

in the final, in what would be considered a classic match. Erikson outweighed the

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

stylist by around 45 kg/100 lb and got the takedown immediately, which Murilo tried to counter with upkicks and a

heel hook Heel hook may refer to: * Heel hook, in grappling * A climbing technique __NOTOC__ This glossary of climbing terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon related to rock climbing and mountaineering. The specific terms used can vary conside ...

attempt. Not much happened, however, as while Erikson was effectively shutting off Bustamante's offense, he was unable to pass his

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

, and the men had to return to their feet eighteen minutes later. The remainder of the bout saw some striking exchanges and Bustamante attempting to pull guard. An extra ten minutes overtime was added onto the match after the regulation thirty minutes finished without a winner, and they returned to their respective positions, with Murilo lying on the ground waiting for Tom to grapple and Erikson standing unwilling to enter the grappler's field. However, this time Erikson devised a special strategy: he would dive into Bustamante's guard to score punches before disengaging and standing back up to avoid danger, and then repeat the process over and over. After several minutes of this tactic, Murilo's face was visibly damaged while Erikson was tired yet unscathed. As he still couldn't finish Bustamante, the bout ended in a

draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anything ...

.Vale Tudo Relics: When Men Landed on MARS
/ref> In his second outing, Erikson TKO'd Davin Wright in under a minute at the ''World Fighting Federation'' in Birmingham, Alabama on February 24, 1997.

Vale tudo

Following this, Erikson took part in the ''Brazil Open '97'' heavyweight tournament on June 15, 1997, again representing WAR. After beating native fighter Silvio "Pantera Negra" Vieira, Erikson was pitted against

Team Hammer House Team Hammer House is a mixed martial arts team operating out of Columbus, Ohio, made up of mostly former NCAA wrestling, wrestlers. While Hammer House focuses on amateur wrestling they do have cross training deals with notable fighters and camps ...

exponent and fellow American wrestler

Kevin Randleman Kevin Christopher Randleman (August 10, 1971 – February 11, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Randleman's background was in collegiate wrestling, in which he became ...

in the final. Randleman attempted to push Erikson into the fence, but he was caught with a right hook, and then Erikson unloaded a series of big shots for the knock out. The Hammer House fighter had to be stretchered out, and Erikson gained the approval of the crowd by helping him out. Erikson made his return to wrestling to compete at the

1997 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 1997 World Wrestling Championships. Men's Freestyle competition were held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Men's Greco-Roman competition were held in Wrocław, Poland and Women's competition were held in Clermont-F ...

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in August 1997, finishing in fourth place in the 130 kg/286 lb

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

division. He also beat

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist, submission grappler and professional wrestler who competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 till 2022, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, RI ...

in a

submission grappling Submission wrestling, also known as Submission grappling, Submission fighting a form of competition and a general term for martial arts and combat sports that focus on Clinch fighting, clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a Submis ...

match on October 11, 1997, in which Erikson controlled him positionally for most of the match, besieging his

half guard Half guard (or half mount) is a ground grappling position where one combatant is lying on the other, with the bottom combatant having one leg entangled. Sometimes the bottom combatant is said to be in half guard, while the top combatant is in ...

and avoiding a tight inverted

leglock A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are featu ...

attempt to win the decision. Finally, he got another quick TKO of Ed de Kruijf at ''Vale Tudo Japan 1997'' in

Chiba Chiba may refer to: Places China * (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei Japan * Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture ** Chiba Station, a train station * Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on November 29, 1997, in what would be his last MMA fight for almost two years.

Pride Fighting Championships

In his

debut, Erikson beat

Gary Goodridge Gary Henry Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian-Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranked ...

unanimous decision A unanimous decision (UD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking and submission in which all three judges agree on which fighter ...

at '' Pride 8'' in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan on November 21, 1999. At '' Pride 11 - Battle of the Rising Sun'', Erikson faced

Heath Herring Heath Herring (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Rizin. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC and K-1. Bac ...

, getting the takedown early and unloading ground and pound as usual. However, after a stand-up by the referee, Herring rocked Erikson with two kicks as he tried to wrestle again, knocking him to the ground before finishing him with a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikogi ...

at 6:17 of round one. Erikson submitted

Matt Skelton Matt Skelton (born 23 January 1967) is a British former professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. In boxing he competed from 2002 to 2014. He challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2008. At regional level, he held the ...

, a kickboxer making his first MMA appearance, at ''

Pride 17 The year 2001 is the 5th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2001 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 13 - Collision Course''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The ...

'' in Tokyo on November 3, 2001. After the event Pride FC amended their rules so that the type of choke he used, which involved grabbing Skelton's throat with his hand in what was termed a "front strangle choke", would no longer be allowed. In his last bout before departing the promotion, Erikson secured a first round rear naked choke submission of

Tim Catalfo Timothy Lance Catalfo (born February 23, 1959) is an American former amateur wrestler, and mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor from 1997 until 2003, he competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships and King of the Cage. He was vot ...

at ''

Pride 19 The year 2002 is the 6th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2002 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 1''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The ...

'' in Saitama, Japan on February 24, 2002. Tom Erikson made his return to MMA and Pride on February 20, 2005, at ''

Pride 29 The year 2005 is the 9th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2005 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 29 - Fists of Fire''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The ...

'' in Saitama, submitting to

Fabrício Werdum Fabrício Werdum (; born 30 July 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Heavyweight Champion who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is also a 4-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, a two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Wor ...

rear naked choke in round one. This was his last fight in Pride.

Last fights

Erikson fought for

Hero's Hero's was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-1. Grown from and branched off of K-1's earlier experiments in MMA, including the ''K-1 Romanex'' ...

at ''Hero's 5'' in Tokyo on May 3, 2006, where he was TKO'd with

ground-and-pound Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

from Antônio Silva in the first round. Erikson was knocked out during the first round of his match with Alexandru Lungu at ''Strike FC 2'' in

Mamaia Mamaia () is a resort on the Romanian Black Sea shore and a district of Constanța. Considered to be Romania's most popular resort,Robert Reid, Leif Pettersen, ''Romania & Moldova'', Lonely Planet, 2007, p. 294 Mamaia is situated immediately nort ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

on August 1, 2008.

Kickboxing career

Despite having no

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

background to speak of and only showing rudimentary striking ability in his MMA bouts, Erikson was recruited by premier kickboxing organization K-1 later in 2002. Matched with

Mike Bernardo Michael Shawn Bernardo (28 July 1969 – 14 February 2012) was a South African kickboxer and boxer from Cape Town. Bernardo was known as Beru-chan in Japan, where he has taken part in K-1 World GPs since 1994. He holds notable wins ove ...

at the ''

K-1 Andy Spirits Japan GP 2002 Final This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

'' on September 22, 2002, Erikson suffered a first-round knockout defeat. He was able to survive into the fourth round with

Hiromi Amada Hiromi Amada ( ja, 天田ヒロミ; born May 10, 1973) is a retired Japanese heavyweight kickboxer and boxer from Gunma, Japan. A staple in the K-1 heavyweight division from 1999 to 2007, the company considered him one of its most talen ...

at ''

K-1 Beast 2003 This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

'' on April 6, 2003, but again lost by KO in a slug-fest. He faced off with boxing champion

Shannon Briggs Shannon Briggs (born December 4, 1971) is an American former professional boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion, having held the lineal heavyweight championship from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO title from 2006 to 2007. Briggs is known for ...

at the ''

K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Saitama This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

'' on March 27, 2004, and, as one might suspect, the wrestler stood no chance and was KO'd little over a minute into the fight. Erikson recorded his first and only win as a professional kickboxer against

Jan Nortje Johannes "Jan" Nortje (born 11 April 1975) is a South African professional kickboxer, mixed martial artist and undefeated professional boxer who has fought for Strikeforce, DREAM, K-1, Inoki Genome Federation, PRIDE Fighting Championship and N ...

at the ''

K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Nagoya This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

'' on June 6, 2004, flooring Nortje three times in fifty-five seconds to win by TKO. In his last fight before retirement, he rematched Jan Nortje in a kickboxing match at ''Deep: Glaiator'' in

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

, Japan two weeks later and looked to repeat his performance in the first match as he dropped the South African giant early. After Nortje beat the referee's count, Erikson moved in to finish him only to be knocked down by a left

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

from Nortje. Erikson in turn beat the count only to be sent to the canvas again soon after, forcing the referee to stop the fight and sending him into retirement on the back of a stoppage defeat.

Controversy

In 2010, Erikson stated in an interview that he believed he was not invited to the Pride Grand Prix tournament because Mark Kerr forced Pride to leave him out in order to avoid fighting him. Kerr denied this claim and replied by saying that Erikson didn't want to be in the tournament in the first place. However, according to fellow Pride veteran

, both Kerr and

Ricco Rodriguez Ricco Rodriguez (born August 19, 1977) is an American semi-retired mixed martial artist currently competing in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1999, he has competed for the UFC, PRIDE Fighting Championships, EliteXC, I ...

had it put specifically in their contracts with the promotion that they would not fight Erikson.Gary Goodridge, ''Gatekeeper: The Fighting Life of Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge'', ECW Press

Championships and awards

Amateur wrestling

**NCAA Division I All-American out of

(1986) **NCAA Division I All-American out of

(1987) *

**NJCAA Junior Collegiate Championship out of

(1984) **NJCAA Junior Collegiate Championship out of

(1985)

Mixed martial arts

*Brazil Open **Brazil Open '97 Heavyweight Tournament Championship *Martial Arts Reality Superfighting **MARS Tournament Runner-up

Kickboxing record

, - , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2008-08-16 , , Loss , , align=left,

, , Deep: Gladiator , ,

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, , KO (left hook) , , 1 , , 1:05 , , 1–4 , - , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2004-06-06 , , Win , , align=left,

, ,

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Saitama, Japan is the capital and the most populous city of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Its area incorporates the former cities of Urawa, Ōmiya, Yono and Iwatsuki. It is a city designated by government ordinance. Being in the Greater Tokyo Area and lying 1 ...

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, ,

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, ,

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, , KO (right hook) , , 1 , , 2:30 , , 0–1 , - , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–4–1 , Alexandru Lungu , KO (punches) , Strike FC 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:21 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3–1 , Antônio Silva , TKO (punches) , Hero's 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:49 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:11 , Saitama,

, , - , Win , align=center, 9–1–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:35 , Saitama,

, , - , Win , align=center, 8–1–1 ,

, Submission (front strangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:51 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Pride 11 - Battle of the Rising Sun , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:17 ,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 7–0–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Pride 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 10:00 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 6–0–1 , Ed de Kruijf , TKO (punches) , Vale Tudo Japan 1997 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:37 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 5–0–1 ,

, KO (punch) , Brazil Open '97 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:11 ,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 4–0–1 , Pantera Negra , TKO (punches) , Brazil Open '97 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 3–0–1 , Davin Wright , TKO (corner stoppage) , World Fighting Federation , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:42 ,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, , - , Draw , align=center, 2–0–1 ,

, Draw , Martial Arts Reality Superfighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 40:00 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 ,

, Submission (neck crank) , Martial Arts Reality Superfighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:31 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Aleksander Khramstovskly , TKO (punches) , Martial Arts Reality Superfighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 8:55 ,

Submission grappling record

KO PUNCHES , - style="text-align:center; background:#f0f0f0;" , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Result , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Opponent , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Method , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Event , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Date , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Round , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Time , style="border-style:none none solid solid; ", Notes , - , Loss, , Jannie Pietilainen , , N/A, , ADCC 2009 +99 kg, , 2001, , 1, , N/A, , , - , Loss, ,

Jeff Monson Oregon State Beavers Jeffrey William Monson (born January 18, 1971) is an American-Russian mixed martial artist, boxer, and submission grappler who competes primarily in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor ...

, , N/A, , ADCC 2001 +99 kg, , 2001, , 1, , N/A, , , - , Win, ,

Roberto Traven Roberto "Spider" Traven (born September 16, 1968) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist whose fighting style is based in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission wrestling. He was a sporty person growing up, it took him 16 years to find Brazilian ...

, , Points , , ADCC 2001 +99 kg, , 2001, , 2, , N/A, , , - , Win, ,

, , Decision , , The Contenders, , 1997, , 5, , 5:00, , , -

External links

National Wrestling Hall of Fame profile

Official K-1 profile

K-1Sport profile
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erikson, Tom Living people 1964 births American male sport wrestlers Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestlers Purdue Boilermakers wrestling coaches American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Illinois Super heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling American male kickboxers Kickboxers from Illinois Heavyweight kickboxers People from Chicago Heights, Illinois Triton College alumni