Eddie Hall secures stunning 27-second MMA knockout against strongman rival
Eddie Hall required less than thirty seconds to dispatch Mariusz Pudzianowski on his second MMA appearance at KSW 105.
Hall, the 2017 World's Strongest Man, wobbled his rival with a thudding right hand that sent him staggering back towards the cage.
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Pudzianowski - a five-time World's Strongest Man winner - clung on for dear life, but he was sent down to the canvas when Hall unleashed a barrage of strikes.
The Pole desperately tried to take Hall to the ground, only to be tossed across the floor like a rag doll.
From there, Hall went to town with vicious ground and pound
Pudzianowski simply had no response as he curled up to protect himself and gave the referee an easy decision to make.
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It was an immensely impressive display from Hall, especially since Pudzianowski boasted more MMA experience.
What made Hall's victory all the more special was the fact he supposedly broke his hand.
When asked to compare the difficulty of the fight against Pudzianowski to his MMA debut, where he stopped the Neffati brothers in a bizarre two-versus-one encounter, Hall said: "The fight with Mariusz was harder.
"I didn't break my hand on the Neffati brothers. But I broke my hand on Mariusz's face.
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"I'd say Mariusz is a much harder fight than the Neffati brothers.
"But the Neffati brothers, they won a two-versus-one recently. So fair play to them. They've improved. So well done to them."
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Hall did admit he was scared to step into the cage alongside a seasoned veteran.
Hall said: “If you’re not scared, you’re not nervous then something’s not right.
"Let’s face it, I’m going up against Mariusz Pudzianowski; 26 professional fights, five times World’s Strongest Man.
"He’s a fierce, fierce man and to get in the cage and exchange leather with a man whose had 26 fights? I’ve had one!
Pudzianowski went into Saturday's bout with a respectable professional record of 17-9.
However, he had not competed in an MMA fight since 2023, which was a brutal stoppage defeat at the hands of Artur Szpilka.
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There had been an air of controversy in the lead-up to the bout as Hall declared he wanted two-minute rounds while Pudzianowski wanted five-minute rounds.
"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," Hall said.
But Hall proved all the talk about minutes of rounds was for nought with the vicious decimation of the Pole.
The Briton weighed in for the fight at a whopping 334lbs [151.3kg], a vast increase on Pudzianowski who tipped the scales at 267lbs [121kg].
Although he was by far the heavier man, Hall may have had the bigger gas tank and that could have been thanks to some brutal sparring sessions with UFC superstar Tom Aspinall.
Hall revealed exclusively to marvelbet369.com he had joined interim UFC heavyweight champ Aspinall's camp 'as much as I can' to sharpen his skills and leave no stone unturned in his preparation.
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"[Aspinall's] got some great guys there. [I've] even sparred with Tom, done some grappling with Tom," Hall said.
"You can't get any better than that. He might not be the number one in the world, but in my eyes, I think he is the number one in the world when it comes down to it.
"So to go and hang with the best in the world has been a massive privilege."
The experienced proved to be equally valuable and humbling for Hall.
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"I'll be honest, you spar with Tom and grapple with Tom," Hall said.
You don't realise how f****** w*** you are until you grapple and spar with someone like that."
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