1 week Ago By Lewis Thompson
Eddie Hall is ‘fully prepared’ for every scenario when he returns to the cage this month.Hall makes his second MMA appearance against five-time World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski in a super-heavyweight encounter on April 26.Hall is confident heading into his second MMA bout on April 26KSWThe pair meet under the KSW banner in Pudzianowski’s native Poland, and it will be the Englishman’s toughest test yet in the combat world, considering this will be his opponent’s 27th MMA fight.
‘The Beast’ entered the fighting world with a defeat against Hafthor Bjornsson in 2022 before transitioning to MMA for a 2v1 fight with the Neffati Brothers last June, knocking them both out.The 37-year-old, who resides in Stoke-on-Trent, is now preparing for a fresh challenge and is fully confident of the outcome in the Strongman showdown.Speaking to talkSPORT.
com, Hall, who was the World’s Strongest Man in 2017, provided an update on preparations for his fight with Pudzianowski and how he plans to overcome the gigantic 48-year-old Pole.“The standing and banging is obviously my favourite,” Hall said, laying out his game plan.“And I think that’s where I better him—the standing and banging, if I’m being honest.
“I’ve got the power, I’ve got the speed, and I’ve got a good chin. I know I’ve got a good chin.”Although the scenario of Hall being dragged to the canvas is unlikely — given his opponent has never won any of his 17 professional bouts via submission — it’s MMA after all, and Pudzianowski is an expert on the mat.
“The grappling is all new to me,” Hall added. “Although I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘I’m going to beat a black belt..
.’ “But I’ve got a good understanding of what grappling entails. I’ve been grappling with purple belts, black belts, good size and stature and no one, not a single person has submitted me.
Hall fights Pudzianowski at the Prezero Arena in Gliwice, PolandKSWHall said he’ll ‘smash’ his opponent’s face if he takes him to the canvasKSW“That’s not to say it’s been hard work, and I haven’t done many submissions myself. It’s always been: when he gets to the floor, it’s fists.“And people forget with all these jiu-jitsu guys, you get them in these positions on the floor and they’ll hug it out a lot, and you just bang, I’ll just smash you in the face.
“It’s been cool to sort of have a go at everything and have no stone unturned. If it goes to the floor, I’m fully prepared. “It’s not not going to be like, ‘Oh s*** I’m going to panic.
’ I’m fully prepared for every scenario.”Hall had originally signed a contract to fight fellow Strongmen Brian Shaw, Martin Ford and Mitchell Hooper in Qatar in February last year.He had trained for around seven months for the mammoth fights, and when it all collapsed, Hall was eager to get a new opponent.
Hall’s fight will be contested in four-minute rounds with 90 second breaksKSWAfter months of negotiations, he finally tied down Pudzianowski to a huge fight deal.However, Hall was left disheartened after an original agreement on the length of rounds quickly changed to suit his opponent’s demands.“We agreed on two-minute rounds eight months ago,” ‘The Beast’ added.
“And then, at the last six weeks, Mariusz demanded five minutes or else he’s going to pull the rug. “So we met in the middle, sort of, and I just thought, ‘It’s got to happen.’“I think if I were to jump in the ring and fight Joe Bloggs, it’s not very exciting.
“It’s like a lose-lose for me. Because if you go in and lose, it’s how you lost someone to half your size.“If you go in and win, it’s like, ‘Yeah, but you’re double the size.
’ So I guess going against Mariusz just made sense.”Hall’s fight with Pudzianowski will be the co-main event of KSW 105, which is one of the biggest MMA promotions in Europe.The April 26 card will also feature two title fights as Adrian Bartosinskif faces Andrzej Grzebyk in the main event for the KSW welterweight title.
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