The 2025 Strongest Arm On Earth took place on August 15 in Loveland, Colorado, and gathered some of the best arm wrestlers in the world. It also featured a number of former professional Strongman athletes, including the former Europe’s Strongest Man, Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei, and former World’s Strongest Man, Martins Licis. The two men arm wrestled each other, and Big Loz was the one who walked away with the win.
Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei vs Martins Licis Overview
Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei immediately demonstrated why he was considered to be a big favorite for the matchup, exerting tremendous power in the first round already. Unfortunately, Big Loz lifted his elbow off the pad and made a foul. Even after the restart, Big Loz was clearly much more powerful but committed the same foul and gave away round one to Martins.
In the second round, Big Loz was once again in control, pressing Martins’ hand towards the pin with ease. However, just before he was about to win the round, Loz accidentally lifted his elbow off the pad, which is why the round had to be restarted. Once the round started again, Loz quickly pinned Martins to win the round and tie the score.
The third and fourth rounds were quite similar since it seemed that Martins Licis ran out of endurance on the table. On the other hand, Big Loz had plenty of energy and strength, which allowed him to win both rounds with a flash pin. So, the final score was 3-1 in favor of Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei.
Result: Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei Wins
Related: Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei Sets a New Dinnie Stone Carry World Record of 22-Feet & 4-Inches
Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei had a great Strongman career, winning multiple high-profile competitions such as Europe’s Strongest Man and Britain’s Strongest Man. However, after retiring from the sport, Big Loz’s competitive spirit did not settle down. Instead, he found himself in the sport of arm wrestling, which is clearly going great for him.
Level Up Your Fitness: Join our 💪 strong community in Fitness Volt Newsletter. Get daily inspiration, expert-backed workouts, nutrition tips, the latest in strength sports, and the support you need to reach your goals. Subscribe for free!
“And it’s kind of a nice feeling as well, because for the last few years, since I quit strongman, you lose that competitiveness. It was nice to have that back… I haven’t felt that in a long time. So yeah, I just had to kind of control the nerves a bit.
The elbow kept coming up. I was trying to stay really relaxed and he’s so strong and it was just as I hit, the elbow was bobbing up. So then, I kind of figured as we went through and I think the lack of experience he’s got, I realized I didn’t need to take everything in the start and I was just like, plant this elbow and be first,” said Big Loz in his post-match YouTube interview.
On the other hand, Martins Licis pretty much won all major Strongman competitions during his career. That includes the 2019 World’s Strongest Man, the 2021 Rogue Invitational, and the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic. However, he quietly left the competitive stage after some injuries but has now decided to try out arm wrestling.
“That was a very eye-opening experience because, well, one, he has similar-sized hands as me, but his thumbs are very short and all I was practicing was I wanted to do the top roll.
But the thing is, I couldn’t get the thumb to have the knuckle show because his thumb was all the way down here. So, I was trying to chase it and I couldn’t get the right positioning. That really messed with me. I think in the competition I did before, the amateur one, people didn’t mess with my grip so much. So, it was much more straightforward, like grab and then we go.
Here, I could feel him doing things. I’m like, “I don’t understand if he’s getting an advantage. I don’t know.” So, this sport is going to take a lot more time for me to practice and understand,” said Martins Licis in his post-match interview.
Watch both interviews here:
Related: Laurence ‘Big Loz’ Shahlaei Sheds 102 Pounds Following a Remarkable Physique Transformation
Big Loz and Martins Licis gave the fans a fun match, but Laurence came out as the clear winner. At no point was he in real trouble, showing that his experience made the difference. Martins may have lost this time, but with more training, he could become a serious challenge for many arm wrestlers.
You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and
YouTube for even more content.
