EDDIE HALL has sought the advice of a UFC champion for his professional mixed martial arts debut.
The Brit man mountain is set to throw down with former fellow World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski in the co-main event of KSW 105 in Poland next Saturday.
Hall has been taking advice from UFC champ Tom Aspinall ahead of the fight[/caption]
Hall, 37, enters the bout as a huge underdog as Pudzianowski has over 16 YEARS worth of mixed martial arts experience to his name.
But ‘The Beast’ has sought the help of interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and his dad, Andy, to help devise a game plan for the Katowice clash.
He revealed: “I’m going up to the Tom Aspinall camp on a regular basis.
“And we have those conversations about what we should and shouldn’t be.
“But I have a great coach, Gee Oakes, whose son is European K1 kickboxing champion.
“So I’ve got some good coaches at home who give great advice and we have some good plans.
“I’d be stupid to say exactly what my plan is, but I am 100 per cent consulting with the Aspinall camp.”
Hall’s cardiovascular endurance will be put to the ultimate test when the cage door closes next week.
Eddie Hall hopes pearls of wisdom from Tom Aspinall and his team will guide him to victory[/caption]
And he admits he’s concerned about his gas tank, revealing during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, he said: “I wanted two-minute rounds.
“Mariusz wanted five-minute rounds, and somehow we’ve met in the middle, nowhere near the middle at four.
“I’m not too happy. I wanted the two-minute rounds because I’m so big. I’m 160 kg [352lbs].
“My fitness isn’t going to be anywhere near what Mariusz is, and I’ve never fought MMA before — and I know MMA is a lot more taxing on the body.
“Obviously, when you get that adrenaline dump, all that cardio goes out the window as well. “So four-minute rounds is a big ask for me, but it was literally, ‘I say yes to that or the fight is off. I had no choice.”
Hall’s combat experience is currently made up of a boxing match with fellow strongman Hafthor Bjornsson and a freak-show 2-on-1 MMA fight against undersized opponents.
So his nerves are well and truly jangling ahead of his clash with veteran Pudzidanowski.
“I think being scared is a very natural trait,” he said. “Even going into my strongman, you’d be scared, you’d be nervous.
Mariusz Pudzianowski has been fighting in mixed martial arts for nearly 16 years[/caption]
“If you’re not scared, you’re not nervous, then something’s not right.
“I’ve got a lot to be scared of. “Let’s face it, I’m going up against Mariusz Pudzianowski; 26 professional fights, five times World’s Strongest Man.
“He’s a fierce, fierce man and to get in the cage and exchange leather with a man whose had 26 fights? I’ve had one!
“So I’ve got a lot to be scared of and the four-minute rounds has been a tough thing for me to accept as well.
“He’s got a lot of advantages but I’ve said ‘sod it’, why not let him have four minute rounds? Let’s just get this done.”