Mariusz Pudzianowski conquered strongman then became MMA star with insane diet to keep ‘beautiful muscles’
Mariusz Pudzianowski has enjoyed epic careers in two different sports while maintaining a surprising diet.
However, the popular heavyweight fighter, who is a legendary strongman, just suffered a shock knockout loss to ex-boxer Artur Szpilka in Warsaw on Saturday night, which may spell the end of his mixed martial arts run.
Pudzianowski’s upset loss, against the man who got knocked out by Deotnay Wilder and Derek Chisora during his boxing days, is his second in a row.
Last December, former two-weight KSW champion Mamed Khalidov made him tap to strikes in the first two minutes of their fight which was billed as the biggest in company history.
If this is the end for Pudzianowski, he can look back with pride at what he achieved in strongman competitions before transitioning to MMA and amassing a 17-9 record.
During the noughties, the now-46-year-old was crowned the ‘World’s Strongest Man’ in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008, while taking silver in 2006 and 2009.
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At the end of the decade, ‘Pudzian’ switched to fighting and jumped straight in at the deep end by facing MMA icon Bob Sapp, boxing legend Butterbean and former UFC champion Tim Sylvia in his first seven bouts.
Even more amazing than the success he’s enjoyed across two very different sports, is that he’s been able to achieve so much and maintain a chiseled physique while eating whatever he wants.
“I don’t have any kind of particular diet,” Pudzianowski told MMA Fighting in May 2022.
“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.”
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While his diet has remained the same despite switching careers, ‘Pudzian’ says the way he trains massively changed after he gassed out during his second MMA fight.
“MMA is a different sport than strongman, he added.
“I must change everything. I had to train for eight years to drastically change my body in the kind of way that my body is functioning because I couldn’t stand for five minutes or 10 minutes.
“So, for eight years of my training, I wasn’t capable of doing the whole 10 minutes, like two rounds in MMA. It’s totally different, weightlifting and MMA is like two 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 took things to the next level after suffering his first loss when he was bizarrely matched up with Sylvia, who recently took up slap fighting, in his third pro fight.
“Later, I go to the U.S.A., fight with Sylvia. Oh, I am crazy. Sylvia showed me [for the] first time what MMA is," he added.
"After this fight with Sylvia, when I’m back in Poland, I talked to my fans. ‘Never beat me, next guy.’ And go to hard training.
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"Slowly, slowly, step by step, slowly, slowly, and go to heavy training. And now I am 13 years in MMA. Before, [I thought it would be] ‘Two fights. Finish.’”
He may be close to ending his competitive career, but you'll have to drag him from the gym.