Eddie Hall has admitted that he has some fears heading into his first proper MMA fight with fellow World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski.
2017 World’s Strongest Man Hall has agreed to face five-time WSM winner and MMA veteran Pudzianowski on April 26 at KSW 105 in Gilwice, Poland. The Brit has had just one 2v1 MMA ‘freak fight’ and a boxing match, while his rival has competed 27 times in a 16-year career.
While Pudzianowski is 11-years older at 47, he is still a major favorite over Hall, who is a very athletic fighter despite weighing 330lb. The fight will have slightly altered rules, taking place over two rounds of four minutes with a lengthy 90 second break in between.
Eddie Hall admits he is scared heading into Mariusz Pudzianowski fight
It is a pretty impressive feat for Eddie Hall to take a fight with a 27-bout veteran for his full MMA debut, given the vast chasm in skill and understanding of the sport. He has just six minutes of cage time to his name, the majority of which was spent standing with his back to the cage avoiding two-man attacks.
And he understands the severity of the task he has at hand, telling media in Poland yesterday: “I think being scared is a very natural trait. Even going into my strongman, you’d be scared, you’d be nervous.
“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!
“So I’ve got a lot to be scared of and the four minute rounds has been a tough thing for me to accept as well. He’s got a lot of advantages but I’ve said ‘sod it’, why not let him have four minute rounds? Let’s just get this done.”
Mariusz Pudzianowski details plan for Eddie Hall fight
While Hall has had limited MMA experience, Pudzianowski is enough of a veteran to understand what is necessary to avoid his early onslaughts. Hall spoke of having short bursts of power, after which he will have to just move around, and his rival believes he just had to survive those early before getting the win.
“Eddie is not like some bar room brawler,” Pudzianowski told media after facing off with the Brit for the first time today. “He is a really strong guy who weighs 160kg (over 352lb) today and on April 26 I believe will be 150kg (over 330lb).
“I know what it means because I come from the same source so for the first two minutes it will be an unstoppage steam engine. It’s only that I still have some of this strength and I have the experience before youth and some cunning.
“So if I do not let myself be caught by a cheap trick it should be fine. But let’s not underestimate it. He is a heavyweight and his hands weigh a lot.”