Eddie Hall has recently made his debut in Mixed Martial Arts, taking on one of the greatest Strongmen of all time under the sanction of KSW, an elite MMA federation based in Europe. Hall went up against a much more experienced opponent in Mariusz Pudzianowski and was the underdog in the opinion of many. He ended up shocking the world and taking the win but also received criticism due to some illegal punches. Well, Hall has now publicly apologized for his mistake and received a quick response from his opponent.
Eddie Hall managed to beat Mariusz Pudzianowski in just 30 seconds, having forced the judge to stop the match and credit the 2017 World’s Strongest Man with a TKO (technical knockout). The controversy came about in the final phase of the fight, where Eddie managed to get control over Mariusz who was stuck on the floor. Hall started throwing punches, some of which landed at the back of Mariusz’s head, which is one of the illegal moves in MMA.
Eddie Hall Apologises for Illegal Punches
Eddie Hall shared his entire post-fight interview on TikTok, with the large portion of it being attributed to the illegal punches that he threw. He revealed that nothing was done intentionally but was instead just a mistake that he made in the moment due to the lack of experience.
“I sort of threw that first jab, he bounced back, and I could see the fear in his eyes. So I threw a one-two; it was that quick. He dropped his guard, and I caught him with that second one. That’s when his eyes rolled. Just kept that pressure on, threw him around, and just kept plowing my fist into his head as hard as I could…
“Obviously, when he was on the floor, I was just hammerfisting. Again, my apologies; it was my first fight. I think I hit him once or twice in the back of the head, then I heard the ref shout at me. It clicked, and then I went back to the face. So again, my apologies. My experience — I wouldn’t like to be hit in the back of the head, so I’m sorry, Mariusz, but these things happen. It was an accident.”
Check out the entire interview here:
@eddiehallwsm Full post fight interview 👊🏻 #Reel #eddiehall Big Love The Beast™️
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Related: Eddie Hall and Mariusz Pudzianowski Step on the Scale with Over 600-lb Combined at KSW 105 Weigh-Ins
Mariusz Pudzianowski’s Response
Mariusz Pudzianowski has had his fair share of boxing matches in the last 15 years, experiencing both the wins and losses that come with the sport. So, his response to Eddie Hall was extremely sportsmanlike. ‘Pudzian’ posted the reply on his Instagram story.
“He was better, he won. This is not chess. It happens like that sometimes.”
Mariusz Pudzianowski’s response was very concise, focusing on the fact that MMA is a sport filled with adrenaline and a lot of quick, unpredictable movements. So, he recognized that Eddie Hall’s actions were not deliberate. On the other hand, Mariusz also acknowledged that Hall was the better fighter on the day.
What is next?
As of now, there is no official information about what is to come for either of the athletes. There has been some talk about the potential retirement of Mariusz Pudzianowski, but it is unclear if he is ready to step out of the octagon for good. He has had an amazing career so far, winning 17 out of 28 matches and putting on multiple exceptional shows throughout the years.
Eddie Hall, however, is planning his second arm wrestling match in August at the ‘Strongest Arm On Earth’ event organized by Brian Shaw. Hall will take on Robert Oberst, who is also a former elite Strongman athlete. As far as combat sports go, Eddie has not talked about any serious plans for the future, but a return to the octagon is surely a realistic option considering how great his debut went.
Making mistakes is a part of every new experience, and this is a process through which Eddie Hall unfortunately went through during the fight. However, he revealed that there was no ill intent behind his actions, and Mariusz Pudzianowski accepted it for what it was. Hall was the dominant athlete throughout the entire match, which is why it is unlikely that his mistakes altered the flow of the match to any significant extent.
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