by Derek Callahan

He hasnt fought since his big win in PRIDE over Tim Catalfo many months ago, but it isnt quite the end of the road yet for Tom Erikson. Fans have questioned as to where the former wrestler and current assistant wrestling coach at Purdue has gone. The answer was somewhat unexpected.

Inside Fighting: Well jumping right into it now, howd you first become a wrestler?
Tom Erikson: Heck I dont know Ive wrestled for so long. I think I was attracted to the sport, the individual aspects of the sport. Its an individual sport with team aspects; its not necessarily a team sport like football, basketball and baseball. Its an individual sport. Youre out there by yourself; you dont have a team around you. When youre out there theyre cheerleaders more than they are helping you. I like that a lot.

IF: Wrestling to fighting, how was that transition for you?
TE: Its been so long since I fought its hard to say. It was very difficult in the sense that, I think the biggest part of it was learning how to put your ego in your pocket and going out and competing, and not thinking that you were tougher than everybody just because you were a wrestler. I think a lot of us wrestlers had fallen into that trap, and they did so at their own peril and they paid for it. I think that was the toughest thinglearning how to really put your ego in check and just going out there and competing.

IF: What would you say has been your best experience overall from either fighting or wrestling?
TE: The best experience? Traveling around the world, meeting all kinds of people. Its just so understated just doing all those things. Competing on a world-class level and traveling all over the world has just been a phenomenal experience.

IF: Have you been wanting to compete in recent years since the [Tim] Catalfo bout, and why havent you?
TE: Yeah Ive wanted to, Ive always wanted to compete. I think maybe earlier in my career I dont think my management [did] the things like the way we probably would now. I mean if we had to do it all over again I think the people that worked with my management and everything else would probably do things differently. But yeah Ive wanted to compete I think Im kinda stuck in a sense that Im a bad match-up for somebody. I think I break down some of the barriers in a sense that Im big, Im hard to take down so if you have really good stand-up skills, I could take you down if youve got very good ground skills I could more or less keep the fight standing and give myself a chance that way so its a difficult match-up. You work so hard to get to a certain level, then once you get to that certain level things are cut off from you because Im obviously not the best guy, but I pose such difficult match-ups for people they dont want to take a fight with me because its just the match-up, they dont want to take a chance losing to someone like me when theres a good chance they may lose to someone like me.

IF: When you say someone like me what do you mean, just a tough guy, good takedowns?
TE: My size, and my ability in the ring now I dont have the best skills. Im not the best striker you know I dont have super great submissions but even in the sport of wrestling Im kind of an anomaly. Im very big, I move very well for someone my size and I do have some decent skills. My striking skills are okay, my defending of submissions are okay some of my submissions or whatever you want to call them, probably a little bit below average to be honest, average to below average but you start adding all those things up and they all, you take the group of them total and it makes it very difficult for somebody. I say me, theres not a lot of mes out there to be honest with ya. Im pretty much by myself in that category, I always kind of toss other people in there its like Yeah guys like me fight this way, well guys like me dont really fight that way because theres not that many guys like me that can do the things I can do.

IF: About the ICC now, how have talks about fighting for them been going?
TE: Actually I kinda started talking to them. I contacted them in a sense that they had talked about bringing Mike Tyson in and I been in the sport as long as I have Ive made a few good connections in the sport and I felt that if they were going to do that they would need someone that was, you know a veteran in the sport so to speak to help get Mike Tyson ready. If he was serious about it hed need to find somebody not in the boxing world, but in the fighting world that can help him get ready for this event and I kind of shot Dan and those guys, Mike an e-mail and said Hey, if you guys need some help getting Mike Tyson ready I would absolutely love to step in and help you guys.

IF: Have there been any developments with that?
TE: Not really I dont know if they know whats going on or if they do its kinda still in negotiations and its kinda of a hush-hush situation I know when it comes down to trying to put facts out there theyve had a tough time with the media and people kinda jumping on em so I think theyre going to keep their cards close to their vest. Id love to work for them; Id even love to fight for them. I think Mike had sent me an e-mail or something like that of a possible fight for them, hey. I am all for it, would love it if theyd be interested in having me on their card.

IF: Is there anyone specific that you would, or would not like to fight if they offered you a part on their card?
TE: You know guys I would consider friends, in the sense. Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman guys Ive trained with, you know maybe even Wes Sims. But you know what? On the same token, Ill fight em all. Ive fought fellow wrestlers; you know Catalfo was a former wrestler, fellow wrestler I had worked out with. Kevin Randleman, I dont want to say he was a good friend but he was a friend of mine. We still are friends, but I feel that if youre going to ask me to fight someone Ive trained with, someone I consider a friend youre going to pay me for it. And I think theyre the same way, and I think a lot of people are the same way. They say, look, were gonna fight. Were professionals, we chose to do this sport lets fight. The one thing, and I had a little bad taste in my mouth when I fought Kevin down in Brazil. Look, Ill fight, and Im sure hell fight me but you know what? Youre going to have to pay me to fight him. If Im gonna have to beat up my friend and/or hes gonna beat me up, youre gonna pay me to do that. And I dont like a bad taste in my mouth but you know whats goann help take that bad taste out of my mouth?

IF: [laughs] yeah I think I have an idea. Youve done some kickboxing, how was that whole experience for you?
TE: I fought some K-1 basically out of desperation to be honest. I needed some fights. I needed to fight, I needed to get some rounds in the ring, some live rounds where some people are trying to take my head off, that type of thing. I had an opportunity to do that and was asked to, and I did all right in one fight and the other fight I just didnt prepare properly, was exhausted, and got my butt kicked for it. But I think it helped. It helped my stand-up. I mean it helped me work on my stand-up and how to throw a strike. You know? It kind of sends a bad message in a sense that Uh-oh, hes learning how to strike too! Look out.

IF: Right, I understand. Youve been a trainer, a fighter a wrestler and a coach which gives you so much experience, but which have you liked the best?
TE: I definitely like fighting because I get paid, thats really neat, getting paid to do something you really like. But as Im getting older, I honestly only have a few fights left in me and the ones that I have, I think that I could put out a show. I still think I got enough to give some people a scare and when I say give people a scare I mean winning. I think I could, given the right amount of time I could train, and give some people a scrap and also entertain the crowd. But if that doesnt happen, Ill train people I dont care. I enjoy doing that a lot, my chosen profession so to speak; you know I am a coach. But Id like one more chance to step in there and see what happens but you know if that doesnt happen, well, ya know I have no regrets if I had to walk away from the sport.

IF: Whats your favorite, and least favorite part of fighting?
TE: Favorite part of fighting? Walking in. especially over in Japan, walking in and hearing the fans go crazy, thats incredible. The least favorite was training my stand-up, its the most painful for me. Im not a stand-up person and having to train it and work on checking kicks and doing all those things, oh my god its absolutely miserable.

IF: Yeah Id imagine after so many years of wrestling, having you do something thats completely different.
TE: And have some guy just work on kicking my legs and that is just no fun at all and is just a miserable thing. But I would say thats probably the least favorite. Not necessarily the training part but the training for certain styles, like training for those kicks thats just absolutely no fun.

IF: Uh-huh. I understand that theres one more fight left on your Pride contract. Are there any developments there?
TE: No. Im waiting. Theyre stuck, so to speak, in the middle of, I dont want to call it a soap opera or anything else. Theyre stuck in the middle of their Grand Prix. Theyve got the Grand Prix and theres only certain fights that they want to have in there, and theyre kind of not necessarily stuck, but theyre forced to take care of those fights and those people first. Im hoping that possibly when they come to the United States in February or early next year theres a strong possibility I may be one of the guys that fights for them. I dont know. I know that I have people over there that are putting pressure on them to get me back in the ring. All Id like to do is sit and hope and see how it works out and keep myself in relatively decent enough shape to go over there and compete for them. Ive never turned down a fight for them. If they ask me, Im in. It doesnt matter. Im in. It would be nice to have ample amount of time to get ready for one but in the same sense if you said Ive got to go in one day Im gone, Im out of here, Im fighting.

IF: So if the organization is big enough, the moneys good enough, youd fight anybody, anywhere?
TE: Well you asked me about Pride. What I get paid in Pride is more or less set. Ive worked myself in that organization and Im fairly happy with what theyre going to pay me and fairly satisfied. If I was fighting for other organizations, thats different. Pride has set a precedent with what theyre going to pay me and thats what theyre going to pay me. Now other organizations, what is fair in that organization thats all I want. I dont want anything outrageous. Just whats fair? You know, if youre going to bring a guy like Tom Erikson, like myself in, and youre gonna bank on my name, like the UFC just did with Tank. They brought Tank Abbott back in there because of his name and fan following and the curiosity of what Tank has. I thought they probably paid him way too much. But thats great on Tanks part. I applaud him. If the ICC wanted to call me and said Tom we want you to come in I would assume that the ICCs bringing me in 1) because Im gonna put on a good show and they think Im a good fighter and 2) I have name recognition and name credibility. Pay me according to that value, and wherever the market is. Im not asking for anything above, give me fair value to what your name brings to your organization and what I can bring to your organization and thats it. Im not greedy, Im not whatever, Id love to sit down, well talk well get it going.

IF: Howd you get the name Big Cat?
TE: I move pretty well for a guy my size, I move kind of like a cat I guess. I kind of roll my eyes when I say it, cause thats kind of the way I felt at the time, still kind of do, but Im stuck with it. I move very well for a guy my size. I kind of move like a cat. Well how about Big Cat? And it just kind of stuck.

IF: To sum up your fighting in the future?
TE: Im not saying right, fair. All you ask for is fair. Im not asking anything exorbitant. Give me fair, Im there. Im not bankrupting anybodys organization. You give me fair value. Im there to get it on for you and Im going to put a show on. You sign a guy like Tom Erikson thats what hes gonna give you. Hes gonna give you some entertainment value. I dont think Id really turn down anything. You give me something thats fair, its all me.

IF: Is there anything else youd like to say, plug or anything?
TE: Im pretty stoked for Randy Couture, he did a great job. I dont know if it means anything but I used to coach Randy when he was at Oklahoma State so its kind of neat that I had any effect on that. Its pretty exciting that Randys able to do that. I consider Randy one of the top guys as far as a former wrestler fighting and I think its great to pull off a show like that. Hes the champion for a reason.

IF: On behalf of InsideFighting, thank you very much.
TE: All right, bye.

Although it seemed as if MMA had lost one of its top heavyweights to obscurity and inactivity, Tom Erikson is primed and ready to prove some people wrong. Still training and with fight left in him, fans can expect the big cat in action once tat phone rings and a fair offer comes his way.

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