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Eddie Hall and Mariusz Pudzianowski Eddie Hall had a successful MMA debut, but it wasn’t without a few hiccups. On Saturday, the former World’s Strongest Man won his MMA debut, knocking out fellow World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski in just 30 seconds at KSW 105. But while “The Beast” took home his first official win inside the cage, he also learned a few things. For starters, Hall was not ready to go when the official attempted to start the round, leading to some confusion at the outset of the action. “My bad,” Hall said in a post-fight interview posted to his TikTok. “I thought you have your drink, and then the referee says the rules, and then you touch gloves. It’s different here in Poland. My apologies. That’s my inexperience. This is my first MMA fight. So my apologies for that.” @eddiehallwsm Full post fight interview #Reel #eddiehall ♬ original sound - Eddie Hall - The Beast Hall rebounded quickly, and once the fight started, it didn’t take long for “The Beast” to make his presence known. Though Pudzianowski was the far more experienced fighter, Hall came out hot, stunning Pudzianowski with an early combination. Pudzianowski attempted to take Hall down, but “The Beast” flung his fellow strongman to the canvas and battered him with punches until the referee intervened. However, during Hall’s barrage, a few punches strayed to the back of Pudzianowski’s head, something the 48-year-old noted following the loss. And for that, Hall also showed contrition. “I sort of threw that first jab, he bounced back, and I could see the fear in his eyes,” Hall said. “So I threw a one-two, it was that quick, he dropped his guard, and I caught him with that second one. That’s when his eyes rolled, and I just kept that pressure on, threw him around, and just kept plowing my fist into his head as hard as I could. ... “Obviously, when he was on the floor, I was just hammerfisting,” Hall said. “You just lose — again, my apologies, [it was] my first fight. I think I hit him once or twice in the back of the head. Then I heard the ref shout at me, and it clicked, and then I went back to the face. So again, my apologies. My experience — I wouldn’t like to be hit in the back of the head, so I’m sorry, Mariusz. But these things happen. It was an accident.” Following Hall’s win, the question quickly turned to what’s next for MMA’s newest attraction? Before the fight, KSW CEO Martin Lewandowski suggested the winner would be a fun matchup for PFL heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, and while Hall didn’t shoot that idea down, he did make it clear what he’s looking for in his next MMA foray. “Jon Jones,” Hall said in a separate post-fight scrum (h/t Marcin Mic). “Just kidding. No Jon Jones. I’ve got to step back. I’ve got to evaluate. If the rematch with Mariusz is there, I’d like to do the rematch with Mariusz. Two-minute rounds, like we agreed on the first time. But I’ve got no aspirations to be a ranked fighter. I don’t want to be No. 1 in KSW. So I’m going to take fights that make sense to me. If they can find me another World’s Strongest Man that wants to fight, I think that makes sense. I don’t want to fight KSW No. 1.”

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov is more than ready to help soccer star Patrice Evra get ready for his MMA debut as the former Manchester United player prepares to fight in the PFL on May 23. After announcing plans to test himself in MMA, Evra reached out to Nurmagomedov for a conversation and he explained that fighting isn’t some novelty act that he’s doing for attention. Instead the 43-year-old former French National Team member promised he’s dedicating himself to get ready for this debut. “I need to train,” Evra said during a conversation with Nurmagomedov. “I need to take it seriously. You know how much respect I have for you, for the sport so that’s why I really need to have a training session with you. Because I want to know from the best.” A noted soccer fan for many years, Nurmagomedov promised to help Evra if he needed it, especially now that they’re both residing in Dubai while he’s getting ready for his debut fight. “I told you many times, send me location and I’m going to find you,” Nurmagomedov said. “Send location, tell me where are you? When I see you, you have to be ready and that’s it. Other things, I’m going to take care of. I’m going to teach you how to smash people.” “ ” “ ” Khabib Nurmagomedov checks in with Patrice @Evra ahead of the former French football captain’s PFL MMA Debut on Friday 23rd May LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN! … pic.twitter.com/G4xHBOmnvt— PFL Europe (@PFLEurope) April 28, 2025 Of course, Nurmagomedov is regarded as one of the top coaches in all of MMA working with numerous champions including UFC lightweight king Islam Makhachev and PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov. Since retirement, Nurmagomedov has dedicated himself to coaching almost full-time and he’s well known for his intense training sessions as well as a devotion to getting the most out of his fighters. It appears he’s ready to add Evra to his roster whenever they can find time to work together. “I just want you to improve yourself,” Nurmagomedov said. “Nothing else. [It’s] very good to see you and finally I hope you’re going to send me location and then we will train together.” Evra is set to make his PFL debut at the upcoming card in France that takes place on May 23 from the Accor Arena in Paris.

Ian Machado Garry | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC Ian Machado Garry is a man with a plan. Following a strong performance to beat Carlos Prates in the UFC Kansas City main event, the 27-year-old Irish star was officially confirmed as the backup fighter for the UFC 315 main event between welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. With that spot secured, Garry expects that whether or not he actually competes for the title in Montreal on May 10 that his shot at gold is coming sooner than later. In fact, Garry has a three-fight plan already mapped out that includes becoming champion as well as his first title defense after winning the belt. “You guys know I like plans, right?” Garry said at the UFC Kansas City post-fight press conference. “You guys know I have visions in my mind. Well let me tell you what’s next. I’m going to fight the winner [at UFC 315], I believe it’s Belal and that’s nothing against Jack, I just believe stylistically Belal has what it takes to get this fight done and quite convincingly. So I’m going to fight Belal next. I’m going to beat Belal. Belal has said it many, many times, I am the toughest opponent in the division for him. “Then when Belal doesn’t have the belt, there’s a certain pound-for-pound No. 1 who wants to come up and his name is Islam Makhachev. I have nothing but love and respect for that man, his style, it would be an honor to share the octagon with him. I would love to go out there and prove against him in my first title defense that I’m the pound-for-pound No. 1.” Now those are already ambitious plans but Garry didn’t stop there because the final stop as he mapped out his immediate future ends with a chance to avenge the only loss he’s suffered in his career. This past December, Garry accepted a short-notice fight against another undefeated welterweight in Shavkat Rakhmonov but despite nearly securing a finish late in the fifth round, he ended up on the wrong end of a decision loss. Garry openly admitted that defeat continues to haunt him but he’s using it as motivation so he can eventually get back to Rakhmonov one day again in the future. “I beat [Islam Makhachev], I take that status [as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter]. I win my first title defense and then Shavkat gets the rematch,” Garry said. “I’m going to go out there and I am going to dismantle that man and prove that he never won that fight. That’s my next three fight plan. That’s how I see that going and I don’t want it any other way.” First things first, Garry is flying to Montreal in two weeks with plans to weigh in as the official backup to the title fight. While there’s obviously a chance he actually ends up competing at UFC 315, Garry understands it’s unlikely but either way he’ll be keeping a very close eye on that main event, although he expects the reigning champion to retain. “I do think Belal has the advantage,” Garry said. “I think Jack hits hard. Jack is clean at some boxing but I just feel like we’ve seen Jack get outclassed by people who aren’t as good as what Belal does in the same style. Belal the very best at that pressure cooker style. He doesn’t hit the hardest but he does not stop coming forward and he mixes in his wrestling and he makes it awkward. “I really do think that’s a stylistically terrible matchup for Jack. I think we see Belal get the finish in the fourth or fifth round.” As much as Garry says he has nothing but admiration for Della Maddalena as a potential challenger, he admits that it would mean more for him to go up against Muhammad as the incumbent champion. Currently riding an 11-fight unbeaten streak, Muhammad has clearly defined himself as the top welterweight in the sport and that’s exactly the person Garry wants to fight when it’s his turn for a title shot. “[I’d rather fight] Belal. Nothing to do with style but just to do with what he’s done in the division,” Garry said. “He is the champion. He has beaten former champions. He’s on a however many fight win streak. “I feel like Jack has not done the same workload and I don’t want any question marks on my career. I’ve told you this. So I want to beat the best guys in the world and Jack is up there on that level but I just think Belal has done more to warrant that status.”

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images When Dustin Poirier arrived in the UFC in 2011, the champions included names like Cain Velasquez, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and Frankie Edgar. In fact, outside of Jon Jones and Jose Aldo, every single fighter who held a title in the UFC when Poirier debuted is either retired or no longer in the UFC. Now as the 36-year-old veteran prepares to make the walk one final time with his retirement fight booked against Max Holloway at UFC 318 in July, Poirier recognizes that he’s preparing to hand the keys to the kingdom over to the next generation of fighters just like the legends who came before him did after he arrived in the UFC. “I think we’re in a changing of the guard,” Poirier said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I got to see the era before me that I was growing up [watching], I was a fan of these guys like Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn, Chuck Liddell. “I got to kind of see that get transitioned out to this new era. I think we’re going through a little bit of that now.” While some older fighters like Alexander Volkanovski are still finding ways to defy the odds after he became the first person over the age of 35 to win a title in a division from 155 pounds or below when he reclaimed featherweight gold at UFC 314, the vast majority of athletes in that age group are nearing the end of their careers. Poirier has actually been teasing plans to hang up his gloves for quite some time but he was adamant about getting one more fight before calling it a career, which now happens in his home state of Louisiana when UFC 318 lands in New Orleans. He knew this day would eventually come and Poirier suspects there are other UFC legends in a similar position who are likely going to join him in retirement sooner than later. “I’m on my way out. Justin Gaethje’s on his way out,” Poirier said. “Kamaru Usman has a few left. It’s a changing of the guard right now.” While veterans like Poirier and Gaethje are nearing the end of their careers, the next generation of fighters are definitely making names for themselves with stars like Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett on the rise.

Daniel Dubois tried to send a message to Oleksandr Usyk ahead of their heavyweight championship rematch, but it may not have gone over as well as he planned. Usyk and Dubois compete for the undisputed heavyweight title on July 19 at Wembley Stadium in London. The two champs squared off for the first time ahead of their summer showdown on Monday, and Dubois met Usyk with a shove in the middle of the field before security intervened. Watch the shove in the video below. What did Dubois just call Usyk?! Pre-register for tickets here https://t.co/HetTfzMaTG#UsykDubois2 | Wembley Stadium | July 19th | #RiyadhSeason | Watch worldwide on DAZN pic.twitter.com/cvMN5zQrSj— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) April 28, 2025 After Dubois made contact, Usyk couldn’t help but laugh hysterically, while Dubois called Usyk a “p*ssy.” In their first meeting, Usyk knocked out Dubois in the ninth round in August 2023. Since then, Usyk defeated Tyson Fury in back-to-back fights, and now puts his WBC, WBO, and WBA championships on the line in his second meeting with Dubois. The 27-year-old Dubois is the current IBF heavyweight champ, and looks to build upon the momentum of a fifth-round knockout win over Anthony Joshua in September.