Former World`s Strongest Man Eddie Hall has issued an apology to his opponent, Mariusz Pudzianowski, for employing an illegal technique during their recent fight.
Making a surprising and successful professional mixed martial arts debut, the British strongman secured a stunning upset victory.
Hall faced off against the Polish five-time World`s Strongest Man winner at KSW 105 in Poland on Saturday night.
While many predicted Pudzianowski would be the favourite, those expectations were quickly dashed within just 30 seconds of the bout.
Despite a 16-year gap in professional fighting experience, `The Beast` overcame his veteran opponent, knocking him out swiftly.
Hall landed a significant right hand, pushing the Polish icon against the cage. Pudzianowski, visibly wobbly, then fell, allowing Hall to deliver repeated blows to the downed fighter.
The referee stopped the contest mercifully, but not before Hall had suffered a broken hand during the sequence.
Following the fight, Hall offered an apology to Pudzianowski for hitting him in the back of the head.
He openly admitted: “I do hold my hands up when I say, `I`m sorry for hitting you in the back of the head`.”
“I don`t condone that, and I wouldn`t want it done to me.”
This victory follows Hall`s previous win against the Neffati brothers, Jamil and Jamel.
Reflecting on the fights, Hall stated: “The fight with Mariusz was harder.”
“I didn`t break my hand on the Neffati Brothers. But I broke my hand on Mariusz`s face.”
“I`d say Mariusz is a much harder fight than the Neffatti Brothers.”
“But the Neffati Brothers, they won a 2-vs-1 recently. So fair play to them. They`ve improved. So well done to them.”
Leading up to the fight, Hall underwent a significant physical transformation, losing 45kg and abandoning his well-known 12,000-calorie daily diet.
He confessed to feeling apprehension about stepping into the ring with the experienced MMA fighter.
Hall commented: “If you`re not scared, you`re not nervous then something`s not right.”
“Let`s face it, I`m going up against Mariusz Pudzianowski; 26 professional fights, five times World`s Strongest Man.”
“He`s a fierce, fierce man and to get in the cage and exchange leather with a man who`s had 26 fights? I`ve had one!”
“So I`ve got a lot to be scared of and the four-minute rounds has been a tough thing for me to accept as well.”
“He`s got a lot of advantages, but I`ve said, `Sod it. Why not let him have four-minute rounds? Let`s just get this done.`”
Elton Marrow 
Gideon Holt