At 48 years old, Mariusz Pudzianowski surprisingly maintains a physique often compared to a Greek god, even after stepping away from professional weightlifting.
Unlike many athletes who rely on strict diets for their impressive builds, the Polish powerhouse Pudzianowski follows a less conventional approach.
Pudzianowski gained international fame in the early 2000s through the World`s Strongest Man competition, which he won a record five times.
The Polish champion secured his first title in 2002 and defended it successfully in 2003.
His attempt for a third consecutive win in 2004 was unsuccessful; he was disqualified and initially placed third.
Pudzianowski returned strongly the next year to reclaim the title, winning it again in 2007 and 2008.
The 2009 competition, where he finished runner-up, marked Pudzianowski`s final appearance in the World`s Strongest Man.
After achieving peak success in strongman, Pudzianowski turned his attention to competing in mixed martial arts (MMA).
However, transitioning to the cardio-demanding sport of MMA required the KSW star to shed some of his massive musculature.
Remarkably, he has managed to keep a significant portion of the immense muscle mass for which he was known during his strongman prime.
And surprisingly, he maintains his powerful build with a diet where he eats whatever he desires, whenever he desires.
He revealed to MMA Fighting, “I don’t follow any specific diet. I eat everything.”
“I might eat 30 chocolate bars, drink two liters of milk, and then have five pounds of ice cream in bed.”
“I eat what I want, when I want, and I still have these fantastic muscles.”
The Polish icon understood that moving to MMA would be challenging, and it took him nearly a decade to adapt his body to the sport`s demanding requirements.
He confessed, “MMA is completely different from strongman. I had to change everything.”
“I trained for eight years to significantly alter how my body worked because, initially, I couldn’t even last five or ten minutes [in an MMA context].”
“So, for eight years of my training, I wasn`t able to complete a full ten minutes, equivalent to two MMA rounds.”
“Therefore, weightlifting and MMA are entirely different; they are like two separate worlds.”
“Even the type of strength needed in MMA is totally different from weightlifting.”
“Just because you can lift 300 kilograms in strongman doesn`t mean that same strength will be effective in MMA, as it requires a different kind of strength.”
Since his MMA debut in 2009, Pudzianowski has participated in 27 professional fights.
He had a strong start to his fighting career with consecutive victories over Marcin Najman and Yusuke Kawaguchi.
However, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia stopped his momentum in May 2010, winning by TKO in the second round.
Since his loss to Sylvia, Pudzianowski has primarily competed in KSW, widely regarded as the top MMA promotion in mainland Europe.
Since then, he has accumulated 15 victories, notably defeating Pride fan favorite Bob Sapp.
During this period, Pudzianowski has also experienced eight losses, including recent consecutive TKO defeats to Mahmed Khalidov and Artur Szpilka.
One of Pudzianowski`s most anticipated bouts in his fighting career is scheduled for this Saturday night at KSW 105, where he faces off against fellow former World`s Strongest Man winner Eddie Hall in the co-main event.
Ahead of the British powerhouse`s professional MMA debut, Pudzianowski sent a stark warning to `The Beast`.
He stated, “Eddie, you are going to face a lot of difficulty. I do not give up easily.”
“You know well that I fight to the bitter end. You are about to understand what oxygen deprivation feels like. This is not boxing; this is MMA.”
Pudzianowski is a popular figure in the MMA community and acknowledges that his fighting career is nearing its conclusion.
“My career is coming to an end,` he remarked. `The conclusion of this chapter I call “sport”.`”
“Eventually, I will have to start living a normal life.”
“I will definitely continue training, but not at the level of a professional athlete. We shall see what the future holds.”
