Tom Nolan has a steam locomotive tattooed on his left pectoral, with smoke rising toward his collarbone. It’s a direct visual match for his Big Train nickname, though he hasn’t confirmed a personal story behind the design. His right arm has fuller black-and-gray coverage, including a reported samurai figure and a larger dragon-like sleeve.
The steam-train chest tattoo
The engine faces forward at a slight angle. Its round boiler front dominates the piece, with a smaller lamp above and short lines beneath suggesting track. Smoke spreads upward in an uneven cloud, dark in places and broken by lighter gaps. The machinery is sharply outlined, while the smoke’s edges loosen toward the shoulder.
A seated cage-side photo gives a clear view of the rounded front, upper lamp and shading around the lower engine. Black-and-gray contrast makes the smaller light areas stand out, and the open skin around the train keeps it readable. An August 2024 EssentiallySports report linked the locomotive to the Big Train nickname, but also noted Nolan hadn’t confirmed theories about his tattoos. The visual connection is clear; his own explanation isn’t in that report.
The right-arm sleeve tattoos
Photos after Nolan’s September 2025 fight with Charlie Campbell show the right-arm work from two angles. In the profile image, the shoulder, upper arm and outer forearm are exposed. A large dragon-like creature fills the upper arm, its open mouth and sharp contours set against looping background shapes that curve toward the elbow. Pale breaks keep the darker areas from becoming one solid block.
In the exchange photo, Nolan is on the right in purple shorts with red wrist tape; Campbell is on the left in yellow shorts with blue tape. Nolan’s raised arm shows how the sleeve wraps over the shoulder and shifts as he moves. Its coverage is greater than in a 2023 cage-side image, but these photos don’t establish when each section was added. A small dark mark at the back of his neck is too indistinct to identify.
The right-forearm tattoo
A Contender Series photo with Bogdan Grad puts Nolan’s right forearm across the frame as he works above Grad on the canvas. The August 2024 report identified the figure near the wrist as a samurai. Here, the armored face and lighter rays around it are the clearest details; the angle doesn’t show enough to name a weapon or smaller armor features.
The forearm piece has to read along a narrow area that bends and turns, so its appearance changes with the position of the wrist. Nolan also has substantial shading on the left forearm. Some reports describe a lion and skull there, but these selected images don’t show them clearly. For another fighter with extensive chest and arm work, see Alessio Sakara’s tattoos.
Career context: the Contender Series breakthrough
A wider photo after Nolan’s win over Grad shows him on the left in burgundy shorts, reacting as the referee and event staff gather near his opponent. The tattoos are visible, though the image is mainly about the moment after the finish.
In a January 2024 UFC interview, Nolan said he earned his contract with a first-round knockout on Contender Series in August 2023. He’d started training at 14, first alongside rugby, and named Anderson Silva as an early influence. Those details trace his route into the UFC without assigning a meaning to the train or arm designs.
Life inside the Octagon
In Sydney, Nolan kicks toward Viacheslav Borshchev, who is closer to the camera on the left. Nolan is on the right in purple shorts and red wrist tape. As he turns, the chest piece curves away from the camera and parts of the locomotive fall into shadow.
Nolan’s UFC debut against Nikolas Motta in January 2024 ended in a loss. Before his next fight with Victor Martinez, he told UFC he was focusing on his own strengths instead of worrying as much about the opponent. That interview speaks to his approach in competition, not to the meaning of his tattoos.
Career context: fighting in Australia
A photo with Alex Reyes shows Nolan in red shorts working at close range. The train is visible above his gloves, though the crowded angle makes the fight action the main focus.
In a June 2026 UFC interview, Nolan discussed Brisbane’s Team Compton, relationships among Australian fighters and putting more attention on the quality of training than on proving how hard he could work. The official interview below follows his decision win over Reyes at UFC 305 in Perth.