Interviewed by Josh Penuel
http://www.myspace.com/erickjordan
1) first off tell us who you are and where your from.
I’m Erick Jordan from Johnson City, TN.
2) what got you into MMA?
I’ve been in or around martial arts my whole life. When I saw UFC for the first time (It was UFC 4), I knew that one day, I had to do it. At first, I didn’t like grappling. It was new, and I resisted it. Once I finally decided that I should probably learn it, I realized how easy it is. I was hooked. For several years, I just focused on my grappling. It was enough to keep me going. One day, in 2001, Casey Oxendine suggested that we go fight on an MMA card. It was our first opportunity to do it, and we jumped at the chance.
3) where do you train at and how long have you been traing?
I train with Casey Oxendine at Team Oxendine MMA. I’ve been with Casey for about 12 years, but I started in martial arts when I was 7.
4)whens your next fight?
I’m hoping to have my pro debut in Feb or March of 2007.
5)who are you fighting in your next fight and tell us what you think the outcome will be.
I have no idea, at this point, who I’ll be fighting. I do, however, plan to win. Although it happens sometimes, I don’t train to lose. I try not to get in too much over my head, and when I do, I try to rise to the occasion. I’m planning on that being the case this time.
6) What does your family think about you fighting?
My dad is very supportive. I think he’s been to all but one of my fights. I really appreciate it, too. My brother has seen me fight a few times. He likes MMA. My mom has never seen me fight, and I’m not even sure that she knows what MMA is. That may be for the best. My girlfriend is very supportive, as well. She knows it’s dangerous, and I think she gets more nervous than I do. She still loves me, though, and she puts up with me training hard and getting hurt. She only flips out when MOAB beats my eyes shut. lol
7) Why do you fight??
I love to fight. It’s become so much a part of me that I get grumpy when I don’t train.
where do you see you fight life going in the future?
I don’t see me making a living from fighting. Maybe I can from training fighters, but I want to see how far I can go, first. If I can make it to the UFC, then that’ll be cool, but I don’t really expect to. I just take it one step at a time.
9) who did you kast fight and what happened?
My last fight was with Josh Penuel. It was his first fight, and he picked it up on very shot notice. Neither of us really had time to prepare for the other, so it was an interesting experience. I didn’t know what to expect, so I was really nervous. I had also not fought as a MW in over a year, so I had a lot of trouble making weight. It was a good fight. I won by TKO via strikes on the ground. Groundnpound.org has a play-by-play and some pics.
ok now im curious what you think..
10) who is your fav. fighter and why?
I like Kazushi Sakuraba. He’s flashy and fun, but he’s also extremely skilled. He has exciting ring entries and pulls off some insane moves in his fights. He’s also fearless. I hate watching a fight, and one guy is obviously terrified of the other guy. It makes the fight drag out. Sak fought Wanderlei three times. How can you scare a guy like that? I also like Genki Sudo and Jason Miller for the same reasons. Quinton Jackson is a very close second. I like him, because he slams mofos.
11) what is your opinion on steroids in mma?
Some people say it’s cheating. If there was a drug to make people smarter, how many bankers, accountants, doctors, lawyers, and executives would be taking it? Would people think it’s cheating? Maybe, but they’d still take it. I think steroids are just like that, but for athletes. I don’t use steroids, but I don’t look down on people who do. Some people say it’s “fake muscle.” I say roll with a juicer sometime. It feels real to me.
12) where would you like to train and with what team and why?
This is going to sound cliche, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Team Oxendine is everything I want in a team right now. If my goal was to go to Pride, I might choose Takada Dojo or Chute Boxe. If my goal was to single-handedly destroy the world, I’d choose Red Devil. However, since my goal is to have fun and enjoy my fighting, I’d rather just train with my friends. Fortunately, they’re great fighters, so it works out well.
13) do you think the penalty for using performance enhanceing drugs should be stricter?
If the competition says you can’t do something, then you shouldn’t be able to. Whether it’s using a particular technique, like knees to a grounded opponent’s head, or taking a particular drug, the participants should be penalized for violating the rules of competition. As far as how strict to be, the penalty needs to be strict enough to keep people from doing it. Threat of a DQ seems to work for the knees. Maybe something along the sames lines would work for drugs, too. Moreso, I think more reliable testing would do more for cutting down on illegal substance usage than harsher penalties.
