In Poland, he is simply known as Pudzian. You might remember him from (try not reading that in a Troy McClure voice) the World's Strongest Man competitions - you know, the ones Mark Henry of the WWE and Hafþór Júlíus "Thor" Björnsson from Game of Thrones have appeared in. Mariusz Pudzianowski would win the event five times between 2002 and 2008, and appear one last time in 2009, where he came in second. He then made the jump to MMA, where he has fought mainly for Poland's KSW - who are actually one of the biggest mixed martial arts promotions in Europe. Since 2009, he has compiled a 93 (1) record with wins over the likes of Bob Sapp, Eric Esch (Butterbean), Sean McCorkle, Oli Thompson, and Rolles Gracie, Jr. While his early fights against Sapp and Butterbean had a definite freakshow fight feel to them, his more recent outings have come against higher calibre competition, mainly ex-UFC fighters. Next up for Pudzian will be Bellator veteran Peter "The Big Chief" Graham.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
