Their bout in Gliwice, Poland, dubbed “The World’s Strongest Fight” had echoes of the old “freak show” fights of the old PRIDE Fighting Championships era.
And, after the official weigh-ins saw Hall register a mammoth 334 pounds to Pudzianowski’s 267 pounds – both above the maximum heavyweight limit for a sanctioned MMA bout in the United States – the anticipation was high when the two behemoths took to the KSW cage on fight night.
Unsurprisingly, the fight didn’t last too long, but it was Hall’s sheer size, strength and power that prevailed over the much more seasoned MMA competitor in Pudzianowski as the Englishman dropped, then finished, the big Pole with a vicious salvo of ground strikes just 30 seconds into their bout.
CO TU SIĘ WYDARZYŁO!?!?
Eddie Hall 🏴 (1-0) w pół minuty pierwszej rundy pokonuje Mariusza Pudzianowskiego 🇵🇱 (17-10) przez TKO (ciosy w parterze) w 1 rundzie na gali #KSW105 pic.twitter.com/rKei3d2x0r
— Świat MMA (@swiat_mma) April 26, 2025
However, the manner of Hall’s victory was called into question by fans online, who criticised Hall for landing a succession of illegal blows on his opponent.
With the finish in sight, Hall got a little over-zealous as he unloaded a barrage of punches and hammerfists on the Polish icon, with some of those heavy ground strikes clearly striking the back of Pudzianowski’s head.
“Eddie was better and he won,” said Pudzianowski after the fight.
“I got a few punches in the back of my head, but that’s a fight, that can happen.
“I expected he has a strong punches. He’s a strong, big guy who weighs 150 kilos. A moment of inattention and I got hit. He was better, he won. Youth won.”
The 48-year-old then hinted that his time in MMA might soon be coming to an end, as he said, “I’m not thinking about what’s next. I’m 48. Sport is for the young.”
Hall, meanwhile, was happy with his night’s work as he claimed a huge victory on his professional MMA debut against a fellow former strongman, but one who had amassed 28 fights’ worth of experience.
“Look, it’s power, it’s strength, but it’s a good combination,” said Hall backstage after his victory.
“I’ve had two very good coaches that have taught me to put that power into action. And, yeah, see, I knew if I could land this right hand clean on the on the face, it’s not good news for anybody. So I did just that, and you can see the result.
“We’ve done a lot of work on the framing and everything. And again, it might not work for a lot of people, but for someone that’s 150 kilo, who’s super strong, it works. So I’ve got to use my strengths, against my strengths.
“I was having fun in there. I was having fun, and I was ready to keep going. I was very anticipating to go the two, four-minute rounds, I really was. I thought it was going to go the distance, but I’m also very happy it ended very quickly.”
Hall later offered an apology to Pudzianowski for the illegal blows when speaking to the media.
“I do hold my hands up when I say, I’m sorry for hitting you in the back of the head,” he said.
“I don’t condone that, and I wouldn’t want it done to me.”
