Eddie Hall has a huge MMA debut ahead of him. (Rich Fury/Getty Images)
(Rich Fury via Getty Images)
Eddie Hall is about to be a part of one of the largest fights in MMA history — literally.
KSW 105 hosts a legitimate battle of giants and former World’s Strongest Men on April 26 when Hall collides with MMA veteran Mariusz Pudzianowski in Gliwice, Poland. The matchup represents Hall’s official MMA debut after he went viral for a 2-on-1 fight against the Neffati brothers in 2024. Outside of the “freakshow” bout, Hall has previously boxed against a fellow World’s Strongest Man winner, Thor Bjornsson, who defeated Hall via unanimous decision in 2022.
Advertisement
For the Brit, a fight with Pudzianowski is a dream come true.
“I grew up watching Mariusz Pudzianowski lift up the stones, pull planes,” Hall said Tuesday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “He’s probably one of the main reasons why I even got into Strongman. To be competing against Mariusz, albeit in a whole different world, in the fight world, it is a massive privilege.
“It’s no small task on Mariusz’s behalf as well. He’s got 16 years experience — 26 or 27 pro fights, but he’s putting it all on the line to fight me, that’s for sure.”
Hall said he’d been toying with the idea of a more ordinary type of fight rather than his previous multi-man matchup since his viral dalliance with the Neffati brothers. Other names came up as possibilities, and one thing led to another for the 2017 World’s Strongest Man winner.
Advertisement
“It was kind of my idea,” Hall said of the fight. “I was training to fight Brian Shaw and Martin Ford and Mike Mitchell, who are all just gigantic men, World’s Strongest Man winners. That fell through and I just felt a little miffed, and I felt like I did sort of statement training for no reason whatsoever. So I thought I’ve got to do something with it — the next man in line was Mariusz Pudzianowski. I put lots of feelers out and have been in communication with KSW for over a year. It’s finally come to fruition.”
Pudzianowski, while being right up Hall’s alley as a similar athletic specimen, is as legitimate of a first real MMA opponent as Hall could possibly draw. The iconic Pol has amassed an impressive 17-9 MMA record since he debuted in 2019. At age 48, Pudzianowski enters the bout on a two-fight losing skid.
Unlike the majority of Pudzianowski’s fights, the Hall pairing will be at super heavyweight with no limit to what either man can weigh. They’ll duel under two four-minute rounds rather than MMA’s traditional three five-minute rounds.
Thanks to his limited experience, Hall wishes the circumstances were a bit fairer.
Advertisement
“I wanted two-minute rounds,” he explained. “Mariusz wanted five-minute rounds, and somehow we’ve met in the middle, nowhere near the middle at four. I’m not too happy. I wanted the two-minute rounds because I’m so big. I’m 160 kg (352 pounds). My fitness isn’t going to be anywhere near what Mariusz is, and I’ve never fought MMA before — and I know MMA is a lot more taxing on the body. Obviously when you get that adrenaline dump, all that cardio goes out the window as well. So four-minute rounds is a big ask for me, but it was literally, I say yes to that or the fight is off. I had no choice.
“This is one of Mariusz’s demands, and we all know why. Obviously he’s going to get the advantage in the cardio aspect, so I can’t really blame him for wanting that, but it’s definitely giving him a massive advantage going into this fight.”
Advertisement
KSW has arguably been the premier European MMA promotion since its creation in 2004. Hall still isn’t sure if he’s under an exclusive deal, though KSW is typically pretty flexible with what its fighters are allowed to do.
However, while Hall has great appreciation for Pudzianowski’s accomplishments in MMA, he isn’t looking to replicate Pudzianowski’s run. He understands his position in the sport and isn’t interested in pursuing championship goals.
Plain and simple, Hall just wants to have some fun.
“I have no aspirations to be a ranked fighter, and I think it’s pretty pointless,” Hall said. “No one wants to see me get in the ring with an average-sized guy and fight. I genuinely believe that’s a lose-lose for me. If I lose the fight, it’s like, ‘Hahaha, you lost to someone half your size.’ If I win the fight, it’s like, ‘Well, you just beat someone half your size.’ If you win, you lose. So it’s a lose-lose for me to go into a fight world and fight, if I’m being honest.
“Where I see my career in the fight world is ‘the freak fights.’ Fighting the giants, doing the two vs. ones. I feel like that’s where I belong, you know? There’s no point in me fighting Joe Boggs, the normal average man. It’s gotta be the Mariusz Pudzianowskis of the world.”