Mariusz Pudzianowski has openly stated that his mixed martial arts career is nearing its conclusion.
The five-time winner of the World`s Strongest Man competition surprised many when he transitioned into fighting in 2009.
Over 15 years later, the 48-year-old has built a professional fight record of 27 bouts, featuring notable victories against opponents like Butterbean, Bob Sapp, and Rolles Gracie Jr.
However, Pudzianowski`s recent MMA outing in June 2023 appeared to mark a difficult moment, as he suffered a surprising knockout loss to former heavyweight boxer Artur Szpilka.
Pudzianowski Discusses Nearing Retirement
Now, Pudzianowski is scheduled to return to the cage to face another former World`s Strongest Man competitor, Eddie Hall. Their bout is set to take place in Gliwice, Poland, on Saturday evening.
The two massive heavyweights recently had an awkward initial encounter before their fight, which is being promoted as potentially the `strongest` fight in MMA history.
While Pudzianowski is focused on the upcoming fight rather than immediate retirement discussions, he acknowledges that his career is drawing to a close.
At the moment, I’m not focusing on what is going to happen in the future,” he said during a pre-fight Q&A with KSW. “I’m concentrating on my fight in Gliwice on April 26th. However, I’m nearing the end of my career, the end of this episode called ‘sport’ and, at some point, I will have to start a normal life. I’m certainly going to keep training, but no longer as a professional athlete. We’ll see what happens next.
Pudzianowski`s Warning to Eddie Hall
For the past year, Hall has reportedly been training with interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
Nevertheless, Pudzianowski suggests that the 37-year-old Hall might be in for a difficult experience when they compete this weekend.
Adding a message for his opponent, Pudzianowski stated:
Eddie, you’re in for a lot of hard work. 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.
