A highly anticipated clash between Eddie Hall and Mariusz Pudzianowski is scheduled for early 2025, and KSW CEO Martin Lewandowski hints at potentially even greater opportunities for the winner.
The two former World`s Strongest Men are set to headline KSW 105 this Saturday in Gliwice, Poland. Lewandowski revealed his interest in a potential cross-promotional bout between the victor and PFL heavyweight, former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
“I`m in contact with the PFL team,” Lewandowski stated, indicating openness to discussions. “So, we can definitely talk about this type of fight if they are willing to share their fighter. No problem.” He added, “I can state now that I am certainly interested in making that happen.”
Given this is Hall`s professional MMA debut, the fight will use modified rules. It will follow standard MMA combat rules but consist of only two rounds, each lasting four minutes. The break between rounds will also be extended to 90 seconds, instead of the usual minute.
Lewandowski mentioned that putting this fight together took considerable time and effort. He explained, “I`ve been working to arrange this fight for almost a year.” He initially asked Pudzianowski, a five-time World`s Strongest Man champion, to connect him with Hall (the 2017 champion). After connecting, he spent nearly a year persuading Hall to debut in KSW.
He noted difficulties in scheduling earlier due to Hall`s personal circumstances, like a newborn child. An attempt to book them for KSW 100 didn`t materialize. Lewandowski described the negotiation process to bring these two large athletes together in the KSW cage as “a quite long, bumpy road,” but ultimately “fun to negotiate with Eddie.”
Pudzianowski will be competing in his 27th pro MMA fight, aiming to end a two-fight losing streak. Hall`s only prior MMA appearance was an informal 2-on-1 bout last year that gained viral attention.
Lewandowski confirmed that Hall`s contract with KSW is for multiple fights. “Two fights [are on his current deal],” Lewandowski disclosed. He added that while longer-term future discussions are possible, Hall`s busy schedule for this year makes planning beyond that premature.
Lewandowski stated, “We`ll see how the first fight goes because many factors depend on this Saturday`s fight.” He concluded that, based on his observations and Hall`s training with fighters like Tom Aspinall, Hall seems to be taking this debut very seriously.
