Eddie Hall has issued an apology to his opponent, Mariusz Pudzianowski, following his professional mixed martial arts debut.
The British strongman secured a stunning upset victory in the bout.
Hall faced off against his fellow former World`s Strongest Man winner on the stacked KSW 105 card held in Poland on Saturday night.
Despite pre-fight predictions favoring Pudzianowski, those expectations were quickly dashed within 30 seconds.
“The Beast” overcame Pudzianowski`s 16-year experience advantage to knock out his opponent in just half a minute.
After pressing the Polish icon against the cage, Hall landed a significant right hand. Pudzianowski became visibly unsteady, allowing Hall to deliver multiple strikes on his fallen opponent.
The referee intervened to stop the contest, preventing further damage, although Hall reported breaking his hand during the fight.
However, in the aftermath, Hall offered an apology to Pudzianowski specifically for hitting him in the back of the head.
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.”
This victory follows Hall`s previous win against the Neffati brothers in a two-on-one contest.
Comparing the fights, Hall stated, “The fight with Mariusz was harder. I didn`t break my hand on the Neffati Brothers. But I broke my hand on Mariusz`s face.”
He added, “I`d say Mariusz is a much harder fight than the Neffatti Brothers. But the Neffati Brothers, they won a 2-vs-1 recently. So fair play to them. They`ve improved. So well done to them.”
Leading up to the bout, Hall underwent a significant body transformation, shedding 45kg and abandoning his renowned 12,000-calorie-a-day diet.
He admitted to feeling apprehensive stepping into the cage with the seasoned MMA fighter.
Hall commented, “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.’”
