World's Strongest Man enters MMA

[Northcott]

Mariusz Pudzianowski (Mary-oosh Pud-jin-nowski) has won the World's Strongest Man competition five times. That's right. Five fucking times. He stands around 6'3" and has a lean mass walking-around weight of over three hundred pounds. Let me put that in numbers because it's fun and shocking to see it: lean weight of 300+ pounds.

There are videos of his weight-training workouts all over YouTube. He does tricep extensions behind the head with a bar that's loaded with more than the bodyweight of the average North American male. He does it for reps, and easily. There's another one of him squatting somewhere around 800 pounds for reps.

He decided he wanted to take up Mixed Martial Arts as his next challenge.

People laughed. They figured he'd be the next jock stooge who thought he could handle himself in the ring, only to get owned by somebody with actual fight training. He was set up against Marcin Najman -- a Polish heavyweight boxer of some repute -- as both were MMA newcomers.

Mariusz beat him into submission in less than a minute. It was fucking insane. Like watching somebody fall into the gorilla enclosure at the zoo.

Click here to see the match on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNt8v8ruwgQ)

[Bregh]

.

[Trainz]

Ok, that's a monstrous ass-kicking.

This dude will be worth following. Keep us appraised with videos of him, he's fascinating to watch.

[Adriak]

Video is gone now.

[The Theocrat of Poon-Tang]

It was fucking insane. Like watching somebody fall into the gorilla enclosure at the zoo.



For some reason that made me giggle out loud.

[Lady_Acoma]

Video is gone now.

This is it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOZI-2vk2Nw

[Kyle Voltti]

wow. his kicks were actually moveing his opponent.

the thing is he's in that range of weight were Who the hell could they get to spar with him let alone face him

[Hatter]

People laughed. They figured he'd be the next jock stooge who thought he could handle himself in the ring, only to get owned by somebody with actual fight training. He was set up against Marcin Najman -- a Polish heavyweight boxer of some repute -- as both were MMA newcomers.

I remember my sensei telling me that while training can help account for size discrepancies, nothing really can beat raw power. In short, if a gorilla wants to crush you your best chance is to run from him.

[Name Lips]

Wow.

And I got the impression from watching him that he's fairly smart, too. Don't know why, just a feeling.

[DarwinOfMind]

I love how like he just stands there for a while and then suddenly like fucking explodes on the guy!

[Northcott]

I remember my sensei telling me that while training can help account for size discrepancies, nothing really can beat raw power. In short, if a gorilla wants to crush you your best chance is to run from him.

That's painfully true, and something that a lot of people prefer to ignore in the myth that martial arts classes can make you unstoppable. I bounced with some guys who entered strongman contests, and it was fucking crazy watching how they were capable of manhandling people when they'd stop playing nice.

Darwin: One of the things you'll note in boxing, MMA, etc, is that the guy who can control the centre of the ring usually has an advantage, so long as he doesn't allow his opponent to get the momentum and back him into the ropes. If you can take away your opponents ability to manoeuvre, you've pretty much got him. The fact that Pudzianowski controlled the centre right away, through sheer physical presence, alone, was the first thing that left me shaking my head as I watched this.

Lips: Pretty much, yeah. Pudzianowski's not a genius, but he's nobody's dummy, either. He's got a certain charisma, some wit, and he's strong as a fucking ox. I remember when he first appeared in the WSM contests years ago, I was blown away. He wasn't always the largest guy on the field, but he was training in a different way -- really focusing on endurance and speed. So he matched or near-matched the others in strength, but then whipped their asses on conditioning. He's now held the WSM title longer than anybody else, winning it 5 times.

I figure his handlers set him up for this fight expecting a victory, though I don't think anybody expected it to be that quick or easy. The sign of good management is that they try to set you up with some decent managers who find people that aren't rubes, but that you can probably beat. If you fight nothing but people who suck, it does nothing for your rep, but by the same token you want to build a fighter's confidence. In both respects, this was an ideal opening for Pudzianowski. It'll be interesting to see who they set him up against next, if he continues this.


As an aside: It seems that Pudzianowski did 19 months in prison for assault back around 2001 (if I recall correctly). Seems that he witnessed a situation on the street where a man was kicking the crap out of an 18 year-old kid. Stepping on his head, etc. Really brutal stuff. Pudzianowski "intervened"... though I've never found more details than that.

Pudzianowski later claimed that the individual he stopped from beating on the kid was connected to the (Russian?) mafia, and pulled strings to get him in deeper shit. Mariusz missed the strongman circut for that time, but now goes back to that prison regularly as part of a rehabilitation program that (iirc) pushes physical fitness as a means of improving one's self.

[Name Lips]

speed

Another thing people assume "big guys" are missing.

[Hatter]

Another thing people assume "big guys" are missing.

I used to think that until I kept meeting 260lbs special forces guys who were fast as shit.

[Northcott]

It's always nice to be humbled by that kind of thing when you're not the target du jour. Being humbled from a nice, safe distance is a Good Thing (tm).

[Ancalagon]

apparently he has a green belt in karate and some amateur boxing training - while that's not a lot, it would help.

[Northcott]

I remember reading previously that he won some amateur titles as a boxer before getting heavily into the weightlifting. It's also been my experiences that belt designations really don't mean much. If somebody gets a half dozen basic moves down pat, and becomes very proficient in them, they can be damned scary (boxing is, after all, no more than jab, cross, hook, and uppercut -- four punches). Past there it's just a matter of footwork and timing -- two things that most belt tests really don't pay much attention to.

[Freedom Canadian]

The main factor IMO would be that he would need to be very dedicated to serious training to make it to world's strongest man, so once he set his mind on MMA, he probably worked his ass off non stop to become good. :)

Plus, being the world's strongest man helps. :D

[Vermicious Knid]

I watch a lot of MMA...and this guy is something special. Low leg kicks are essentially a zero-risk maneuver...you can do it all day without opening yourself up to a counter. Being able to do fight-ending damage with them quickly is just unheard of. Fighters spend 5 rounds using them in a war of attrition...knocking a guy flying with one is just obscene.

:boggle:


That being said, we'll see what happens when he meets a grappler. Hard to power through a heel hook or arm bar.

[Northcott]

As you notice with the ref, he had to throw Pudzianowski in an arm bar just to haul him off Najman... and Pudzian still threw a punch or two, flailing the ref around, before he even noticed he was being held. At the end of the fight, when he and the ref are on their backs, he moves his arm a little while seeming to tell the ref he can let go now... and he lifts the ref a little. With one frickin' arm.

I've also seen him do tricep extentions -- pulling the bar from behind his neck to an overhead press position -- with the bar loaded with more weight than the average man's bodyweight. For high reps, high speed, and effortlessly.

When you think that the average human femur collapses under roughly 1,500 lbs of vertical weight, and Pudzianowski squats half of that for reps... that he's pulled trucks, trains, and other things for contests... the notion of how much force it might take to get an arm bar or leg lock on him is considerable. Even at bad leverage angles, he's frighteningly strong. His grip strength alone is capable of crushing the wrists of most men. Hell, mine is capable of cracking bones. His would be fucking insane.

I think it's obvious that he was set up for a fight with someone who could grant him some credibility, but who he could take out. He's probably got a smart handler/agent. Chances are his next few fights will be similar in that regard -- people who aren't rubes, but who he can probably take. I think it'll be awhile before we see him fight someone who's got serious skills, and if it's going to be a really serious fight, then they'll have to be someone that's damned strong, too.

Still... if he keeps this up, it promises to be one Hell of a spectacle!

[Vermicious Knid]

The rumor is that his next fight will be Aleksander Emelianko.

That is a dip in the shark tank. :boggle:

[DarwinOfMind]

Appearently there are detractors who do not thing he's very skilled.


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4752197&name=mma


Rossen: Pudzianowski reportedly mulling Emelianenko fight

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 | Print Entry
Posted by Jake Rossen/Sherdog.com

MiddleEasy.com got its hands on a rough translation of a Polish newspaper report; while some key details could be getting mangled in the imported text, there appears to be some notion that James Bond-esque promotional outfit M-1 Global has made advances toward no-necked strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski.
"The Russians would like to download to yourself 'Pudziana' in April," one interpretation reads. Who could resist such an offer?

Billed as the world's strongest man, "Pudziana" throttled and outmatched Marcin Najman on Friday in Poland, landing a series of ugly, awkward punches and kicks until the referee peeled him off. It was more wild animal attack than fight, but it apparently impressed M-1 enough to float Alexander Emelianenko as a possible opponent.

I expect Pudzianowski has handlers to rebuff these kinds of advances, but if not, he's about to become the latest in a long line of ill-qualified attractions who prefer money to common sense. There have been massively powerful individuals -- Mark Kerr, Tom Erikson -- who were able to marry actual skills with their horsepower, and they still got beat. If you're constructing a fighter, are you really going to sacrifice years of grappling ability to add a few hundred pounds to his dead lift?

Pudzianowski is a novelty act. If he's treated like one, more power to him. If he's treated like a fight athlete, his protein shakes will be going through a wired jaw eventually.

[Trainz]

They have a point.

Still, would love to see how it pans out. Either it's going to be entertaining because the strongest man in the world will have his ass handed to him, or it's going to be entertaining because this newcomer will defy all odds.

In either case... we win.

[Northcott]

It'll show how smart his handlers are. The Russians would love nothing more than to see a defiant, proud, nationalistic Polish strongman pounded into the dirt. The Ruskies love and respect strength, but mostly when it belongs to them. They also seem to enjoy baiting their former territories.

If Pudzianowski's handlers have any brains, they'll avoid an opponent this dangerous until Pudzianowski's got more serious game. Right now is when they have to be getting him ring experience -- not throwing him into a match that's likely a set-up to take him out before he can get to that point.

[Ancalagon]

That fight does sound premature...

[Freedom Canadian]

If Pudzianowski's handlers have any brains, they'll avoid an opponent this dangerous until Pudzianowski's got more serious game. Right now is when they have to be getting him ring experience -- not throwing him into a match that's likely a set-up to take him out before he can get to that point.

They could make a movie about this. Clint Eastwood could play the trainer.

"What is the first rule, Mariusz ?"

"Always protect myself."

[Name Lips]

If he's being pushed into this fight, there is money involved in doing so.

[Northcott]

Undoubtedly. Particularly given the rumours of the other fighter's connection to the Russian Mafia, and Pudzianowski's own unfriendly past with one of them. This probably isn't anything quite that sinister... but you never know. Playing with combative sports has always been a popular thing with organized crime.

Like I said, hopefully Pudzianowski has good handlers. This would be a stupid fight to take right now -- but athletes of his calibre aren't too likely to turn down such a challenge. It's in their nature to launch themselves against the odds. Hell, it's how they get to the top in the first place. He needs someone of a more cautious demeanor to turn it down and go for the safer fights -- at least for a while.

[Vermicious Knid]

Rumors of the Russian mob being involved with MMA promotions have been around for quite a while.


Not the major organizations like the UFC, but M-1 Global is pretty suspect.



Mariusz would be better off coming and fighting in a US minor-league promotion with TV coverage. Strikeforce, for example.

[Ancalagon]

It may be difficult for him to find opponents who *aren't* very good though - you need to be pretty darn sure of your skills to be willing to fight such a powerful foe.