The highly anticipated clash between Eddie Hall and Mariusz Pudzianowski, scheduled for KSW 105, might have even greater implications, according to KSW CEO Martin Lewandowski.
These two former World`s Strongest Man titleholders are headlining KSW 105 this Saturday in Gliwice, Poland, airing live on pay-per-view. KSW CEO Martin Lewandowski was asked about a possible co-promotional matchup between the winner of the Hall vs. Pudzianowski fight and PFL heavyweight and former UFC champion, Francis Ngannou.
Lewandowski expressed strong interest in such a bout, stating, “I’m in touch with the guys from PFL. So definitely we can talk about this kind of match if they would be willing to share the fighter, no problem.” He added, “I can say from now that I’m interested to do that, definitely.”
As this marks Hall`s professional MMA debut, the rules for the fight have been modified. The bout will follow standard MMA combat rules, but will consist of only two rounds, each lasting four minutes. Furthermore, the break between rounds will be extended to 90 seconds, longer than the typical one-minute interval.
Lewandowski mentioned that agreeing on the ruleset was a significant point during negotiations, which he described as taking longer than expected – nearly a year to finalize. He recounted how he initially approached Mariusz Pudzianowski, a five-time former World`s Strongest Man champion, to connect him with Eddie Hall, who won the title in 2017. After Mariusz made the introduction, Lewandowski spent close to a year attempting to persuade Hall to make his MMA debut with KSW.
Hall`s initial unavailability was due to personal reasons, including the birth of his child and other external circumstances. The fight was originally targeted for KSW 100 but couldn`t be arranged then. Lewandowski remarked on the challenging but ultimately rewarding process of bringing the two strongmen to the KSW cage for the scheduled date this Saturday, April 26th. He called the negotiation process with Eddie “fun.”
Pudzianowski is scheduled for his 27th professional MMA fight, aiming to end a two-fight losing streak. Eddie Hall`s only prior MMA appearance was a widely viewed 2-on-1 exhibition fight last year.
Lewandowski confirmed that Hall has signed a multi-fight contract with KSW, initially for two bouts. He added that while they discuss long-term plans, Hall`s current year is busy, and future plans depend heavily on the outcome of Saturday`s fight. Lewandowski also noted that Hall appears to be taking his preparation very seriously, having even trained with UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
