Eddie Hall does not want anything to do with a fight against MMA’s greatest heavyweight Francis Ngannou – and he’s not ashamed to say it!
The 2017 World’s Strongest Man made his MMA debut at KSW 105 on Saturday night in Poland. He scored a vicious 30-second knockout over five-time WSM champion Mariusz Pudzianowski, and immediately questions were asked about whom he may face next.
It appears that he is keen on a rematch with the Polish powerhouse, who has called him out for cheating by hitting him in the back of the head. But he first must recover from a broken knuckle and figure out his best course of action.
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Eddie Hall denies Francis Ngannou fight prospect after winning MMA debut
Prior to his fight with Mariusz Pudzianowski, Eddie Hall had his name thrown into the mix for a fight with Francis Ngannou by KSW boss Martin Lewandowski. Despite never having fought a one-on-one MMA bout before at the age of 37, he was touted as a potential opponent.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, the promoter explained: “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. I can say from now that I’m interested to do that, definitely.”
However, Hall hilariously dismissed the idea, telling media after his fight he “would rather get f—ed up the a— by the devil than fight Francis Ngannou. I’m not fighting Francis Ngannou, that’s not happening, no. Let’s just not mention my name anywhere near that name.”
Earlier in that media scrum, Hall made it clear that he wants to participate in fights with other ‘freak’ athletes. He noted that at his level and age, it doesn’t make sense to be pursuing the number one spot even on a promotion like KSW.
Eddie Hall reportedly outpunched Francis Ngannou at the UFC Performance Institute
While Hall is not keen on a fight between he and Ngannou, he already seems to have one victory over him in Las Vegas. The Brit is said to have scored hire on the PowerKube at the UFC PI, which measures how hard one punches.
Ex-UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou held onto the feat of the world’s hardest punch until former light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira surpassed by over 60,000 units. Then last year, Hall shattered the record at 208,901 units.
“As of now, I don’t wanna make the claim officially, but I have got the hardest punch on the planet,” Hall told the media ahead of his fight on Saturday night. “That’s been recorded via a punch measuring machine at the UFC [Performance] Institute.”