Eddie Hall has unveiled the details of his remarkable body transformation achieved in preparation for his mixed martial arts debut.
The British former World`s Strongest Man is set to make his professional MMA entry this Saturday night in a highly anticipated clash against fellow strongman champion Mariusz Pudzianowski at KSW 105.
Hall previously dipped his toes into MMA last year with an unusual 2-vs-1 fight against the Neffati brothers, where he secured a DOUBLE TKO victory.
For that exhibition bout, which took place three years after his boxing match against fellow strongman Hafthor Bjornsson, the 37-year-old athlete weighed slightly over 26 STONE (approx. 165 kg).
At the official weigh-in on Friday morning, Hall registered just under 24 stone (approx. 152 kg). He has achieved this significant weight reduction by cutting out carbohydrates and adopting the highly popular Carnivore Diet.
Speaking about his dietary approach for this fight preparation, Hall told Bloody Elbow: “I just eat nothing but meat, eggs and dairy on the carnivore diet.”
He added, “It’s been a pretty good diet, helped me to maintain all of my muscle mass and I’ve dropped body fat. My energy levels are through the roof, my endurance is insane so that’s pretty much been the diet.”
During the peak of his strongman career, Hall`s weight reached a staggering 31 STONE (approx. 197 kg), fueled by an enormous daily diet of 12,000 calories.
In recent years, he has reduced his daily intake to 10,000 calories, and he hasn`t lowered it further specifically for this bout against Pudzianowski.
EDDIE HALL VS MARIUSZ PUDZIANOWSKI BETTING TIPS AND ODDS
Hall stated, “I’ve not restricted what I eat at all, I just eat meat, eggs and dairy and as much of it as I want. The body fat’s come off.”
He continued, “When I started the prep I was 170kg (approx. 26.8 stone) and I’m down to 158kg (approx. 24.9 stone). I might even lose a bit more and be strict, that would get me to fighting at around 155-156kg (approx. 24.4 – 24.6 stone).”
“I feel good and the main thing about it is that with my training, it’s not about the weight but how fit I am,” Hall explained. “Am I doing these four-minute rounds and being able to recover within 90 seconds to go again?”
“At the minute, I can say yes. I’ve got no intention to lose too much weight because the cardio is there.”
Hall enters the fight as a significant underdog, giving up nearly 16 years of MMA experience to the KSW veteran Pudzianowski, who is expected to severely test Hall`s cardiovascular endurance.
However, in an interview with talkSPORT, Hall expressed confidence: “I`ve been doing the four-minute rounds. I`m not gassing, I`m big, I`m strong.”
He humorously added, “I`ve never heard a fighter say, ‘I wish I was weaker for that fight`.”
Therefore, he has “no intention to lose weight, muscle mass or whatever,” affirming his readiness by stating, “I can fight, I`ve got the lung capacity and I`m happy to go in at this weight.”
Pudzianowski has vowed to challenge Hall`s endurance, warning `The Beast`: “Eddie, you’re in for a lot of hard work.”
He continued with a stern message: “I’m not going to give up easily. You know it well that I fight until the very end. You’re about to see what lack of oxygen means. This is not boxing, this is MMA.”
Elton Marrow