After destroying his opponents in an insane 2v1 MMA fight, former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall is looking for something a little more traditional.
Making his mixed martial arts debut under the World Freak Fight League banner in Blackburn, England, Hall, absolutely obliterated social media influencers The Neffati Brothers. In the now-viral clip, Hall power-bombed one of the brothers before KO’ing him with a vicious right hand—all while fending off the other one.
After getting a taste for MMA, the 36-year-old strongman would love to throw hands with another former World’s Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski.
“I think someone like Mariusz Pudzianowski, he’s got 20 years experience in the game,” Hall said in a post-fight interview. “He’s still a big guy, still very strong and he is a hard bastard, there’s no denying that Mariusz Pudzianowski is very hard. I think the fans want to see a ‘World’s Strongest Man’ vs ‘World’s Strongest Man’, so there we go. If someone can bring the right deal to the table I know Mariusz is game, he’s always in my inbox sending me fighting emojis, so maybe this is it” (h/t MMA Fighting).
Pudzianowski is down for an MMA showdown with Eddie Hall
Hailing from Biała Rawska, Poland, Mariusz Pudzianowski is significantly more experienced inside the cage than Hall, having earned a 17-9 overall record while competing for KSW.
In a 2022 interview with the Daily Star Sport, Pudzianowski showed little interest in stepping inside the squared circle, but would happily accept a clash with either Hall or ex-Arnold Classic winner Thor Bjornsson in MMA.
“I’m not considering moving to boxing,” Pudzianowski said. “I have already focused on MMA and there will be no new challenge for me. MMA is probably the last challenge for me. But of course, with anyone – with Eddie or Bjornsson, I would enter the cage on the principles of MMA!”
In 2022, Eddie Hall first dipped his toe into the world of combat sports via a boxing match with Thor Bjornsson, best known by Game of Thrones fans as The Mountain. He lost the bout via unanimous decision after six rounds.
Sean O’Malley hopes to learn the date of his next title defense by the end of June.
After soundly defeating Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 299, the reigning bantamweight champion immediately shifted gears toward the future, initially proposing a showdown with featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. O’Malley’s win came just weeks after Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to win his title and O’Malley felt it was good timing to test the waters at 145 pounds.
That idea was rejected by both the UFC and the fans so O’Malley happily shifted gears back Merab Dvalishvili, the No. 1 contender at 135 pounds. Dvalishvili is currently riding a remarkable 10-fight win streak in the division, including victories over former champions Henry Cejudo and Petr Yan.
Now O’Malley is just waiting on the UFC to officially book the fight and give him a date.
“It’s going to happen. It’s going to happen this year,” O’Malley told MMA Fighting. “I don’t have a date for your guys, unfortunately. UFC told me at the end of the month, they’ll have a date for me. I’m guessing, I’m hoping for the Sphere still. I’ve been pushing for that for a while but if not the Sphere, December in Vegas. Either one, I do think it will be in Vegas. It’s one of those two dates.”
UFC 306 goes down Sept. 14 from Sphere in Las Vegas on a card that may end up as one of the most expensive productions in the history of the promotion. The $ 2.3 billion arena features 580,000 square feet of LED screens and was primarily set up for concerts and films, but UFC CEO Dana White insisted that he could put on a memorable live sporting event there.
So White is investing a lot of money to make sure UFC 306 goes down as a night to remember, especially considering the UFC’s owners at TKO Group Holdings have been assured this is a “one and done” event.
Meanwhile, the year-end UFC card in December doesn’t have a date yet, though it’s typically set up some time in the middle of the month with the show almost always happening in Las Vegas.
The timing makes sense given the current schedule with UFC 304 in Manchester, England, in July, UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, in August, UFC 307 expected to take place in Abu Dhabi in October, and UFC 308 likely taking place at Madison Square Garden in New York in November (the numbered events are subject to change). UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has already announced his intention to clash with Stipe Miocic at the November card, so it seems highly unlikely O’Malley would join him as a co-main event.
Ideally, O’Malley prefers to compete in September, but he’ll roll with the punches if the UFC decides on December instead.
“Of course, I’d rather fight September [rather] than December,” O’Malley said. “But whatever UFC says, I’m ready to go.”
As far as the matchup itself, O’Malley never strays far from the gym even when he doesn’t have a fight date on the calendar. so technically he’s already preparing for Dvalishvili.
He’ll ramp up his schedule once the UFC gives him an exact date, but the technical preparation to deal with the Georgian grappler has already started.
“We’ve been training specifically for Merab since the Chito fight,” O’Malley said. “That’s next and I’m training hard right now, prepared for whatever. We’re 14 weeks out from the Sphere so I’m not training, not full camp but if that’s the date, I’ll get right into camp. But I won’t know until the end of June.”
While O’Malley remains as confident as ever that he’ll dispatch Dvalishvili just as he has many other opponents during his career, he understands the threat he’s facing. Dvalishvili built his reputation around dominant wrestling and conditioning that allows him to push the pace for every single second during a five-round fight.
Those are skills that have to be respected, although O’Malley still considers Dvalishvili’s friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling to arguably be the most difficult puzzle he’s had to solve in the UFC.
“He’s up there. He’s definitely up there,” O’Malley said when ranking Dvalishvili among his opponents. “I think Aljo was the toughest to fight in the division for me. But 100 percent, Merab is up there.
“He’s very dangerous. He’s got a good gas tank. He’s hard to finish. That’s a very dangerous combination. We’ll have to wait and see.”
While Nassourdine Imavov closed the show with a massive win in the main event of UFC Louisville, the feel-good story of Saturday’s card was two-time light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes picking up his first victory since October 2019 in the co-main event. Where do both Imavov and Reyes go from their big wins at the KFC Yum! Center?
On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and guest host Jed Meshew discuss what could be next for Imavov and Reyes following their stoppage victories. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for Raul Rosas Jr. following his second-round submission win over Ricky Turcios, Brunno Ferreira after his Knockout of the Year contender against Dustin Stoltzfus, along with fellow main card winners Zachary Reese, Punahele Soriano, and more.
Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Things have gone from bad to worse for Ryan Garcia of late, capped off by his recent arrest.
Garcia was escorted away from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beverly Hills. The boxer was accused of vandalism and footage has surfaced of him being taken away by police in handcuffs.
Despite claiming his unusual behavior ahead of his Devin Haney fight was an act, the 25-year-old still seems to be struggling in day-to-day life. The boxing star is finding it difficult to evade controversial situations recently, as his aforementioned arrest adds to the negativity surrounding his name.
On Saturday evening, Ryan Garcia was placed under arrest and ushered away from a hotel in Beverly Hills.
TMZ Sport snapped up the moment of arrest and have shared the video online. Watch it below.
Ryan Garcia was arrested for felony vandalism at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills on Saturday afternoon. Law enforcement sources say he trashed his room/hallway at the luxury hotel. Here was Ryan being taken away by BHPD.
It's been a roller coaster couple of months for… pic.twitter.com/BhUgRo4Dzi
— michael j. babcock (@mikejbabcock) June 9, 2024
Garcia allegedly damaged property in the hotel and had to be removed from the property–though he cooperated without further issues.
According to the reports, Garcia was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Since the incident, one of Ryan Garcia’s representatives has spoken out on the matter.
“[Ryan Garcia] was taken by the BHPD to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment,” Garcia’s attorney Darin Chavez said. “And to our knowledge, may be charged with public intoxication.” [h/t TMZ Sports]
Related: Sean O’Malley hilariously mocks Ryan Garcia: ‘Interesting technique’
The arrest comes not long after Ryan Garcia was flagged and later found guilty of taking an illegal substance. Despite denying the allegations, Garcia’s upset win over Devin Haney–which was also the biggest result of his career–is now tainted.
Garcia is enduring a tough time and may have to deal with even more turmoil.
After making comments about the popular Prime Hydration beverage, the boxer has found himself in trouble.
Logan Paul wasn’t happy with Ryan Garcia’s comments and has decided to file a lawsuit against the combat sports athlete.
Less than two months removed from his knockout win over Matheus Nicolau at UFC Vegas 91 last April, No. 4-ranked Alex Perez makes a quick turnaround to continue his march toward the 125-pound title opposite Japanese phenom and No. 13-ranked flyweight up-and-comer Tatsuro Taira in the UFC Vegas 93 five-round main event, streaming LIVE on both ESPN2 and ESPN+!
Event: UFC Vegas 93: “Perez vs. Taira” Date: Sat., June 15, 2024 Location: UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada Broadcast: ESPN2/ESPN+ Start Time: 4 p.m. ET Preliminary Card | 7 p.m. ET Main Card
UFC Vegas 93 Main Event On ESPN2/ESPN+:
125 lbs.: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira
UFC Vegas 93 Main Card on ESPN2/ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):
185 lbs.: Ikram Aliskerov vs. Antonio Trocoli 145 lbs.: Timothy Cuamba vs. Lucas Almeida 135 lbs.: Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Miles Johns 125 lbs.: Asu Almabaev vs. Jose Johnson 170 lbs.: Josh Quinlan vs. Adam Fugitt
UFC Vegas 93 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN2/ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):
125 lbs.: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Joshua Van 125 lbs.: Jimmy Flick vs. Nate Maness 135 lbs.: Brady Hiestand vs. Garrett Armfield 125 lbs.: Carli Judice vs. Gabriella Fernandes 145 lbs.: Jeka Saragih vs. Westin Wilson 115 lbs.: Josefine Knutsson vs. Julia Polastri 145 lbs.: Shayilan Nuerdanbieke vs. Melquizael Costa
*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*
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