Recently I had the pleasure of talking to former Bellator Heavyweight title challenger Eric “The American Soldier” Pridle. We discussed everything from his job in the military, his time in Bellator, his future plans, and how MMA has been the best possible medicine for his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Below is a full audio recording of the interview, as well as written highlights for those who do not have audio capabilities.
Eric Prindle Interview by Dblacker217 on Mixcloud
Dallas Blacker: Eric you’re a former soldier in the U.S. Army, what was your job in the Army?
Eric Prindle: “I was an 11 Hotel Tow-Gunner and Sniper, and I also boxed in WCAP, which is a world-class athletic program.”
DB: After you did some boxing and retired from the service, how did you get drawn into MMA?
EP: “I was at a friend’s house at the time and he owned a gym that was called Takedown Academy, and he was saying how boxers suck and all this, and I don’t even think I told him that I boxed. He said any of his guys would knockout any guys standing up, and I was like Oh Yeah? I think we put a little side bet on it, and, uh, I beat both of his heavyweights. I just loved every minute of it, the ground game, grappling. So, I just got the bug so to speak. Thank God I did, having PTSD, MMA allows me to get my aggressions out and MMA makes symptoms of PTSD way easier to deal with. So, I really appreciate him getting me into that.”
DB: After your first couple of in Bellator you entered the Bellator Season 5 Heavyweight tournament, and advance to the finals where you had a series of events with Thiago Santos. Can you give me the rundown on what went down with Santos?
EP: “Oh, for sure, our first fight I don’t know what he was thinking, but he basically soccer kicked me in the cojones, and the ref stopped the fight, he said I couldn’t continue. We were supposed to fight again, and for some reason he didn’t make weight. I could tell you like I’m starving to make 265, I do everything I can to cut and make weight. The whole time I’m watching him, he’s eating mashed potatoes, and so I thought he was good on weight. He comes, weighs in, first of all while we were cutting, when I cut weight and get in the sauna I put Albolene on, get on the treadmill, run for like twenty minutes, and then I get in the sauna. I don’t wanna play games in the sauna, and I come in there and he’s in there laying down on the ground, ya’ know, hating life. So I’m kinda wondering what’s going on, I cut my fifteen pounds, did whatever I needed to do, then left. He comes, I think two guys were carrying him in, he was overweight by like 12 pounds or something. So, I don’t know if he miscalculated, or just wasn’t disciplined. They said I won, because he didn’t make weight, and I actually asked the commission if we could still fight, and they said, because it was a championship fight, that they wouldn’t allow him the fight, and the way he was acting and his symptoms, they wouldn’t allow him to fight anyway. The next tournament him and I got matched up again, and I actually hit him in the nuts, but it honestly was on accident. I was trying to hit him in the Solar plexus, seeing that he was gassed out, I was thinking it would be an easy night if I kicked him in the Solar plexus, but I miscalculated the range. He said he couldn’t continue and I got disqualified, when he got a no contest for kicking me in the nuts.”
DB: With everything that went on between you two, was there any real static between you two guys, or was I just one of those things that happens?
EP: “No, for me there wasn’t any real animosity or anything, just for me when I saw him eating those mashed potatoes, he was basically eating anything he wanted, and I’m killing myself to make weight, and he didn’t make weight, that kinda got me angry. So It gave me some fuel to train and get better, and let’s just say the next meeting we had if I didn’t hit him in the groin and the fight would have kept going, in my opinion, I would have been fine. My gas was great for that fight, my body fat was low, I was feeling like an animal.”
DB: Your last couple of fights didn’t exactly go your way, what have you been up to since your last fight with James Thompson?
EP: “Basically, I’ve just been recovering from injuries, and lifting weights, and putting some more muscle mass on. Also spending time with family, and working.”
DB: I know you’re the kind of guy who likes to stand and bang, and I also know you had some experience kickboxing when you were younger, do you have any interesting in Professional Kickboxing at all?
EP: “Oh, for sure, I would love to do that, that would be like one of my dreams, go into a fight in Glory or something like that, that would be awesome. You know when I was Alistair’s, I think he’s a world champion now in Glory, uh, Rico Verhoeven. He’s a really great guy and showed me a lot of good stuff in kickboxing, like Thai kicks, and how to maximize your power on each kick. That was one of the best camps I’ve been to, just a lot of big guys that could throw. Everyone was like 6’4″ or bigger, and strong as hell, so it was definitely a great camp.”
DB: What’s next for Eric Prindle?
EP: “What’s next for me is to heal up, get in the best shape possible, the most strength I can get, and get some good cardio going. Probably have one or two small fights, and probably jump back into Bellator, or maybe even Glory or something like that, and go from there. Just, uh for me, fighting, or doing MMA, or kickboxing is medicine for me, it keeps my soul happy, and honestly it saved my life. I think with the PTSD and the stuff I’ve gone through it definitely allows me to have an outlet that I can come back and see my family, and be happy, instead of being, ya’ know, upset at someone dropping crumbs. It allows me to calm down and chill out, and not react over spilt milk so to speak. So it’s definitely a good thing, and anybody that has PTSD hopefully you guys can try to get into MMA, or kickboxing and martial arts, and hopefully it will help you as much as it’s helped me.”
From Tow-Gunner and Sniper, to five time All-Army boxing champion, to MMA heavyweight contender, Eric’s story is filled with peaks and valleys, yet Prindle soldiers on. Whether it be in a Bellator cage, or Glory ring, I for one look forward to Eric’s return, and wish him the best in all of his future endeavors.
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