How Mariusz Pudzianowski went from strongman icon to MMA beast while eating ice cream and bingeing on chocolate

MARIUSZ PUDZIANOWSKI still has the body of a Greek god at the ripe old age of 48 – despite no longer being a weightlifting machine.

And while most athletes maintain their incredible physiques through meticulous dieting, the same can’t be said of Polish pounder Pudzianowski.

KSW

Mariusz Pudzianowski has been one of the faces of Polish MMA promotion KSW since 2009[/caption]

AFP

The 48-year-old made his name around the world as a strongman[/caption]

WORLD'S STRONGEST MAN

Pudzianowski won the World’s Strongest Man five times[/caption]

MARIUSZ PUDZIANOWSKI

He’s considered by many to be an icon of strongman[/caption]

Pudzianowski made his name in the early 2000s competing in the World’s Strongest Man, a competition he’s won a record FIVE TIMES.

The pride of Poland won his maiden title in 2002 and retained it the following year.

He failed to secure an incredible three-peat in 2004, suffering a disqualification and initially finishing third.

Pudzianowski came back with a vengeance the following year to reclaim the title, which he won again in 2007 and 2008.

The 2009 tournament, in which he claimed second place, would be Pudzianowski’s last.

Having conquered the strongman world, Pudzianowski would set his sights on fighting in mixed martial arts.

But the KSW superstar would have to lose some of his incredible muscles to compete in the cardio-intensive sport.

Pudzianowski has undergone a dramatic transformation over the years, going from being a 22 stone man mountain to a much leaner 19 stone.

EDDIE HALL VS MARIUSZ PUDZIANOWSKI BETTING TIPS AND ODDS

ALAMY

Mariusz Pudzianowski had to reduce his hulking frame to start competing in mixed martial arts[/caption]

INSTAGRAM@PUDZIANOWSKI

Pudzianowski has shed just over three stone over the years[/caption]

KSW

Pudz is still a man mountain, despite being nearly 50 years old[/caption]

Rather impressively, he’s managed to retain some of the hulking muscles he became famed for when he was at the peak of his powers.

And incredibly, he maintains his mammoth frame by eating whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

He told MMA Fighting: “I don’t have any kind of particular diet. I eat everything.

“I can eat 30 bars of chocolate, drink two cartons of milk, then eat five pounds of ice cream in bed.

“I eat whatever I want, whenever I want and I always have these beautiful muscles on my body.”

Polish icon Pudzianowski knew the transition to MMA wouldn’t be easy, and it took him the best part of a decade to get his body accustomed to the gruelling demands of the sport.

He admitted: “MMA is a different sport than strongman. I must change everything.

“I had to train eight years to drastically change my body in the kind of way that my body is functioning because I couldn’t stand five minutes or 10 minutes.

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Mariuz Pudzianowski initially struggled with his transition to mixed martial arts[/caption]

KSW

It took him close to eight years to go more than two rounds[/caption]

“So for eight years of my training, I wasn’t capable of doing the whole 10 minutes, like two rounds in MMA.

“So it’s totally different, weightlifting and MMA is like two [different] worlds.

“Even the strength in MMA and in weightlifting is totally different.

“It’s not like you can lift 300 kilograms in strongman, it doesn’t mean that the strength will be as good in MMA because it’s a different kind of strength.”

Pudzianowski has had 27 fights since making his debut back in 2009.

He’d make a rip-roaring start to his career with back-to-back wins over Marcin Najman and Yusuke Kawaguchi.

Weightlifting and MMA is like two [different] worlds.”

Mariusz Pudzianowski on transitioning from strongman to MMA

But former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia halted his hype train in May 2010 with a second-round TKO victory.

KSW, mainland Europe‘s premier mixed martial arts promotion, has been Pudzianowski’s home ever since his defeat to Sylvia

He’s racked up 15 wins since that fateful night against Sylvia, including one over Pride cult hero Bob Sapp.

Pudzianowski has also tasted eight defeats in that time, most recently suffering back-to-back TKO losses to Mahmed Khalidov and Artur Szpilka.

Perhaps his most high-profile bout of Pudzianowski’s second career takes place on Saturday night in the co-main event of KSW 105, where he’ll throw down with fellow former World’s Strongest Man winner Eddie Hall.

And he’s sent a chilling warning to ‘The Beast’ ahead of the Brit bruiser’s pro-MMA debut.

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Marius Pudzianowski throws down with fellow World’s Strongest Man winner Eddie Hall at KSW 105[/caption]

He said: “Eddie, you’re in for a lot of hard work. I’m not going to give up easily.

“You know it well that I fight until the very end. You’re about to see what lack of oxygen means. This is not boxing, this is MMA.”

Pudzianowski is a cult figure in the mixed martial arts world, which, by his own admission, he’ll soon depart.

“I’m nearing the end of my career,” he said. “The end of this episode called ‘sport’.

“And at some point, I will have to start a normal life.

“I’m certainly going to keep training, but no longer as a professional athlete. We’ll see what happens next.”