It takes a lot of dedication and hard work to become a strongman. There’s also a lot of commitment and training required if you want to become proficient in the martial arts. Most people who practise one of these sports stick to whichever one they’ve chosen. Not many make the leap from one to the other, though some have.
In this article, we’ll look at some well-known strongmen who made a successful transition to martial arts and made a great career out of it. There are quite a large number of people who follow martial arts. Some simply watch matches and keep up with the latest goings-on, while others take things further by placing wagers on particular fighters. They join online sportsbooks such as HotBet where as well as betting on martial arts they can claim bonuses and earn regular rewards.
Mariusz Pudzianowski
Widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time is Mariusz Pudzianowski. Hailing from Poland, he was born in 1977 and started strength training when he was 13 years old. Just three years later, he participated in his first professional sporting event, competing in the bench press competition of the Polish Weightlifting Championship.
His strongman career officially lasted from 1999 to 2009. During this time, he won Europe’s Strongest Man a total of six times (more than anyone else) and was awarded World’s Strongest Man a record-breaking five times. His mixed martial arts career is still going strong. Since 2009, Pudzianowski has fought in 28 professional matches, winning 17 of them and losing 10 (there was one that was no contest). Of his wins, 12 were by knockout and five were by decision. As well as delving into mixed martial arts, Pudzianowski owns real estate, a cargo truck company and a school for bodyguards.
Eddie Hall
Another famous strongman who switched to mixed martial arts is none other than Eddie Hall, commonly known as The Beast. Born in England in 1988, Hall was a competitive swimmer in his teenage years and even broke some records. He developed an interest in strength training and entered his first strongman competition in 2007, placing 5th out of 15 strongmen. He then took part in many more competitions, eventually coming first at the UK’s Strongest Man competition in 2011; he won this title every year for the next five years, too. It wasn’t until 2017 that he won the prestigious World’s Strongest Man.
Hall is quite new to the mixed martial arts scene, having only fought in his first match in 2024. In his first match, he defeated both of his opponents, Jamil and Jamel Neffati. Then on April 26, 2025, he took on none other than Mariusz Pudzianowski and ended up winning the match. Something that’s helped Hall is the fact that he has the Hercules gene, which enables him to build more muscle than people without the gene.
Oli Thompson
Another English former strongman who currently practises mixed martial arts is Oli Thompson, whose nickname is The Spartan. Born in 1980, he enjoyed playing rugby when he was young and was a fan of the weight training side of it in particular. He ended up deciding to become a strength athlete, with his first professional event being the UK’s Strongest Man Qualifier in 2001. He didn’t qualify, though the experience encouraged him to take part in similar events and keep practising. He never placed first at the UK’s Strongest Man competition, though he did win first place at the Britain’s Strongest Man 2006 competition.
In early 2009, Thompson made his debut as a mixed martial arts fighter, taking on Ashley Pollard. He won his first match and went on to win his second, which was also against Pollard. As of July 2025, Thompson has competed in 41 professional mixed martial arts matches, winning 23 of them and losing 18. Of his wins, 15 have been from knockouts, four from submission, three from decision and one from disqualification.
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson
Born in Iceland in 1988, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (whose first name can be read as Hafthor) is widely regarded as one of the strongest men to have ever lived. He’s the third most decorated strongman in history and has a total of 31 international wins to his name, not to mention a staggering 123 world records. He also holds the distinction of winning Europe’s Strongest Man, the World’s Strongest Man and the Arnold Strongman Classic in the same year; no one else has done this before.
Even though he only started practising mixed martial arts recently, he’s enjoyed some success. From 2021 to 2022, he competed in four boxing matches, winning two of them and drawing the other two. He won against Eddie Hall and Devon Larratt, while his ties were against Simon Vallily and Steven Ward. It’s not sure whether Hafþór will take part in any more boxing matches. The Icelandic strongman is quite well known outside of sporting circles thanks to his role as The Mountain in the hit TV series A Game of Thrones.
