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

amateur wrestler Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced at Olympic, collegiate, scholastic, and other levels. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the worl ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the

super heavyweight Super heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and bodybuilding, 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). Int ...

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) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...

(NJCAA) Junior Collegiate Champion at

Triton College Triton College is a Public college, 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 purch ...

before achieving

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I honors twice at

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. 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 university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

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

Lyon College Lyon College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and located in Batesville, Arkansas. Founded in 1872 as Arkansas College, it is the oldest independent college in Arkansas. History Located in Batesville, Ar ...

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 ove ...

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A south suburb of Chicago, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its nicknames include "The Cro ...

. 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 The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, in 1986 and 1987, while competing for

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. Erikson made the switch to the emerging sport of

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

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 ( ; , ; born November 11, 1961, in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran) is an Iranian-born American Greco-Roman wrestler, MMA Fighter and professional wrestler. Ghaffari was a two-time USA Olympic team member, obtaining a sil ...

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 an American former freestyle wrestler. He is the current assistant vice president for university advancement and former athletic director at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania near Erie, P ...

. "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. Open 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) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

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 Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later re ...

event, but he was passed over for

Mark Coleman Mark Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first List of UFC champions#Tournament ...

. 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 di ...

tournament in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. In the quarter finals, Erikson defeated

sambo Sambo may refer to: Places * Sambo, Angola, a commune in Tchicala Tcholohanga, Huambo Province, Angola * Sambo Creek, a village in Honduras People * Ferdy Sambo (born 1973), former Indonesian police general * Khem Sambo (1961–2011), Cambodi ...

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

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

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 p ...

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

Murilo Bustamante Murilo Bustamante (; born 30 July 1966) 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 competing for the UFC, ...

in the final, in what would be considered a classic match. Erikson outweighed the Brazilian jiu-jitsu 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 Climbing technique refers to a broad range of physical movements used in the activity or sport of climbing. Notable sub-groups of climbing technique include: *Aid climbin ...

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 gu ...

, 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 most commonly refer to: * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Draw (tie), in a competition, where competitors achieve equal outcomes * Draw ...

.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 wrestlers. While Hammer House focuses on amateur wrestling they do have cross training deals with notable fighters and camps such as Ma ...

exponent and fellow American wrestler

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

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 in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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 * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

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, ...

in a

submission grappling Submission wrestling, also known as submission grappling, submission fighting, or simply grappling, is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on ground fighting and submission techniques. It is a hybrid discipline that incorporates eleme ...

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 defensive 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 comba ...

and avoiding a tight inverted

leglock A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the human leg, 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. Leglock ...

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

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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 Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), 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 contenders in the world of pr ...

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 fighte ...

at '' Pride 8'' in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, 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 who competed in the Heavyweight division. While perhaps best known for competing in PRIDE, he has also formerly competed for the UFC, K-1 and Rizin. Background ...

, 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), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

at 6:17 of round one. Erikson submitted

Matt Skelton Matt Skelton (born 27 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 th ...

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

Pride 17 The year 2001 was 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 T ...

'' 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 vo ...

at ''

Pride 19 The year 2002 was 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 Th ...

'' 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 was 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 Th ...

'' in Saitama, submitting to

Fabrício Werdum Fabrício Werdum (; born 30 July 1977) is a Spanish-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 Comba ...

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) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

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, Mamaia is situated immediately north-east of Constanța's city center. It has almost no full-time residents, being ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

on August 1, 2008.

Kickboxing career

Despite having no

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

background to speak of and only showing rudimentary striking ability in his MMA bouts, Erikson was recruited by premier kickboxing organization

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...

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 over ...

at the ''

K-1 Andy Spirits Japan GP 2002 Final This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the Fig ...

'' 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 (; 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 talented Japanese fighte ...

at ''

K-1 Beast 2003 This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the Fig ...

'' 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 who competed between 1992 and 2016. He held the lineal heavyweight title from 1997 to 1998, and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight title from 2006 to 2 ...

at the ''

K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Saitama This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the Fi ...

'' 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 Ne ...

at the ''

K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Nagoya This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a Japanese kickboxing promotion. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993, at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Since its inception, K-1 events were organized by the Fig ...

'' 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 prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...

, 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/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

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 former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight (MMA), heavyweight division. A professional competitor from 1999 to 2019, he competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, ...

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

out of

(1986) **NCAA Division I

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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, , 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 ,

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, , - , 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 , Chiba,

, , - , Win , align=center, 5–0–1 ,

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

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

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, , - , 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, , - , 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

, - 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-born Russian mixed martial artist, boxer, and submission grappler who competes primarily in the heavyweight division. A professional com ...

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

Roberto Traven Roberto "Spider" Traven (born September 16, 1968) is a 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 Jiu J ...

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

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

Wrestling record

, 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 , - , Loss, , Stephen Neal , , Decision , , USA wrestling championship , , 1999 , - , Win, , Andrei Shumilin , , Fall , , 1996 USA vs Russia Dual , , 1996 , - , Win, , Georgi Kaisimov , , Decision , , 1992 World Cup, , 1992 , -

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 Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing American male kickboxers Kickboxers from Illinois Heavyweight kickboxers Sportspeople from Chicago Heights, Illinois Triton College alumni Bloom High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen