Eddie Hall has scored a stunning upset win over Mariusz Puzianowski in his professional mixed martial arts debut.
The British fighter locked horns with his fellow ‘World’s Strongest Man’ winner on a stacked KSW 105 card in Poland on Saturday night.
Hall, 37, was a huge underdog going into the fight as he only had two fights – a boxing match against Hafthor Bjornsson and a freak 2-vs-1 contest against the Neffati brothers — to his name.
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But ‘The Beast’ overcame Pudzianowski’s 16 years of experience to win the mammoth melee in Gliwice, The Sun.
He did so in devastating fashion, taking just 30 seconds to KO his opponent.
The fight ended with drama as Hall put his hand up to admit he landed an illegal punch to the back of his opponent’s head in the final strikes before the referee stopped the contest.
You can watch the KO in the video player above.
Hall also revealed after the fight he had suffered a broken hand during the fight.
He confessed: “I do hold my hands up when I say, ‘I’m sorry for hitting you in the back of the head’.
“I don’t condone that, and I wouldn’t want it done to me.”
Hall hurt Pudzianoswki with a big stiff right hand after pressing the Polish icon against the cage.
Pudzianowski wobbled and immediately shot for a takedown, which Hall stuffed, to avoid more power shots.
Hall wound up in top position and proceeded to drop bomb after bomb on a fallen Pudzianowski.
And the referee mercifully waved off the contest.
MMA rookie Hall openly admitted he was scared to be sharing the cage with KSW vet Pudzianowski.
He 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!
“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.’”
Hall underwent a huge body transformation ahead of the fight, shedding 45kg.
He ditched his famous 12,000-calorie-a-day diet to weigh in at 150kg – a far cry from his 195kg strongman days.
The MMA win means he has achieved what he failed to do in boxing.
Hall lost on his boxing debut to another strongman, Hafþór Björnsson, also known as Thor.
— This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission
