Eddie Hall`s entry into the world of mixed martial arts proved successful, although it wasn`t entirely without its issues.
On Saturday at KSW 105, the former World’s Strongest Man, known as “The Beast,” made a winning start to his MMA career by knocking out fellow strongman competitor Mariusz Pudzianowski in a swift 30 seconds. While securing his first official victory inside the cage, Hall admitted the experience came with lessons learned. Notably, there was a moment of confusion at the fight`s beginning when Hall wasn`t ready to proceed when the referee signaled the start of the round.
“My mistake,” Hall explained in a post-fight interview shared on TikTok. “I thought you`d have your drink, then the referee would go over the rules, and then you`d touch gloves. It seems things are done differently here in Poland. My apologies for that; it just shows my inexperience. This was my very first MMA fight, so I apologize for that.”
Despite the initial hiccup, Hall quickly found his rhythm. Once the fight was underway, “The Beast” wasted no time making an impact. Despite Pudzianowski holding a significant experience advantage, Hall attacked aggressively from the start, landing an early combination that visibly rocked his opponent. Pudzianowski attempted to counter with a takedown, but Hall defended by powerfully throwing the strongman to the canvas and following up with punches until the referee intervened to stop the contest.
However, during Hall`s barrage of strikes on the ground, some punches inadvertently landed on the back of Pudzianowski`s head, a point the 48-year-old competitor noted after the fight. Hall also expressed his regret for this.
Describing the finishing sequence, Hall stated:
“I threw that first jab, he bounced back, and I could see the fear in his eyes. So I immediately followed with a one-two; it happened so fast, he dropped his guard, and that second punch connected. That’s when his eyes rolled, and I just maintained that pressure, threw him around, and just kept hammering my fists into his head as hard as I possibly could.”
He further elaborated on the illegal strikes:
“Obviously, once he was on the floor, I was just throwing hammerfists. You just lose focus… again, my apologies, it was my first fight. I believe I hit him once or twice on the back of the head. Then I heard the referee shouting at me, it clicked, and I started hitting the face instead. So, again, my apologies. Due to my lack of experience – I wouldn`t want to be hit in the back of the head myself – I`m sorry, Mariusz. But sometimes these things happen; it was accidental.”
Following Hall`s debut victory, the discussion naturally turned to his future plans in MMA. Prior to the event, KSW CEO Martin Lewandowski had suggested that the winner could potentially face PFL heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. While Hall didn`t outright dismiss the idea of fighting high-profile opponents, he clearly outlined his preferences for his next step in combat sports.
“Jon Jones,” Hall initially joked in a separate post-fight scrum. “Just kidding, definitely not Jon Jones. I need to step back and assess things. A rematch with Mariusz would be appealing if it`s an option, especially with the two-minute rounds we initially agreed on. However, I have no ambitions of becoming a ranked fighter. I don`t want to be the number one contender in KSW. My plan is to take on fights that make sense to me personally. If they can find another World`s Strongest Man who`s willing to fight, I think that would be a logical match. I`m not looking to fight the KSW number one guy.”
