On Saturday night, Thor Bjornsson notably ignored the strongman rival he`s long feuded with, Eddie Hall, following Hall`s impressive performance.
In his KSW 105 MMA debut, Eddie Hall decisively defeated a five-time World`s Strongest Man winner in just 30 seconds.
Known as `The Beast,` Hall had initially challenged Mariusz Pudzianowski following a strange 2-on-1 match victory last June.
Eddie Hall`s previous combat sports experience was a 2022 boxing match against Thor Bjornsson. In that bout, the `Game of Thrones` actor won by decision, although Hall managed to knock him down.
Thor Bjornsson overlooks Eddie Hall’s MMA victory
Before the fight, Thor publicly stated his support for Pudzianowski to win, though he acknowledged a potential lucky upset.
He stated, “Mariusz has the experience advantage, but he`s aging. Eddie could land a lucky punch. We`ll have to see.”
Hall connected with several significant strikes. After his third consecutive knockout loss, Pudzianowski, the Polish heavyweight, later claimed on social media that some of these shots illegally hit the back of his head.
Shortly after the KSW event concluded, Thor took to his Instagram story to discuss a different fight he had been watching.
He wrote regarding the Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn match, “Fight of the Year candidate. No question.”
As of now, Thor has made no public comments regarding Hall`s performance or his successful MMA debut.
Could There Be an MMA Rematch?
A significant issue stemming from their original boxing match was the payment structure. The event garnered massive viewership, reportedly crashing the broadcaster, and both fighters were promised seven-figure payouts.
However, they were never paid. Hall believes Bjornsson was partly responsible for this failure.
Speaking in a previous interview before facing Pudzianowski, the 37-year-old Hall elaborated:
“I think that chapter is closed. We had our disagreements; he didn`t handle the loss well, which caused further conflict.”
“Unfortunately, I feel the wrong person won that night, but I did get the satisfaction of punching him. He`s gone back to strongman, seemingly without other opportunities, so good for him.”
“I doubt he`ll ever agree to a rematch. I`m finished with him… I believe doing business or participating in sports with someone you intensely dislike is a poor decision, and I felt there were negative signs from the start.”
“We never got paid for that fight! It was supposed to be $1 million each, and the whole thing collapsed. I think it was partly due to people wanting guaranteed money rather than relying on pay-per-view revenue, and I believe he contributed significantly to that problem.”
“Working with him commercially? I have no interest. There was, and still is, too much animosity. It`s simply not wise to conduct business, especially in the fight world, with someone you detest that much.”
