World's Strongest Man out to Crush Mixed Martial Arts

The World's Strongest Man competition first started in 1977. Filmed at Universal Studios in Florida, it was almost entirely dominated by American weightlifters and Football players.
The competition has evolved over the years, and from being considered an entertainment show, worldwide Strongman contests have become their own specialised discipline categorised as 'Strength Athletics'. It's a niche market worth tens of millions of dollars worldwide, in equipment, TV deals, advertisement and supplement sales. As the sport has developed, so have the competitors. Gone are the days when entertainment wrestlers such as Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk 1978 – 82) could take part at the behest of television producers.
As the competition has bulked up, so have the weights of the apparatus used in the events - and year on year the competitors bulk up in order to keep pace.

Despite constant changes of name and management, the competition generally stuck to the same format and has been contested in September each year. However, the results have been one of sport's best-kept secrets through the years as the television deals that run worldwide (Channel 5 in the UK) are synchronised to be shown at the same time, over the Christmas and New Year period. To this end it has become an institution in the UK over the festive period. This, along with an ever-increasing rotundness of competitors, had led to the competition being viewed as a mere curiosity as opposed to a serious sport.

All that changed, however, in 2002 with the arrival of a man from Poland called Mariusz Pudzianowski. From the outset of his debut in the competition, something just didn’t seem right. He was obviously a big guy, but unlike the other competitors he managed to have a very low body-fat percentage and looked like a comic-book bodybuilder, such was his physique.
Pudzian, as he is known, has gone on to completely dominate the sport, winning the competition in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and becoming the most successful competitor ever by winning his fifth title in 2008. No wonder he is known amongst sports analysts as The Dominator.

But, more important than simply dominating the competition so completely, Pudzianowski has changed the approach of competitors and singlehandedly forced the sport to evolve into what it is today. Large essentially fat men who could lift huge weights but who had poor motility were blown away by the sheer speed of the phenomenal Pole, as many of the events require competitors to carry huge weights over certain distances. Not only could Pudzianowski compete with some of the world's best dead lifters and squatters, he was also an all-round athlete, playing rugby for his local team, competing as an amateur boxer and achieving a fourth kyu in karate.
He also competed in the Polish Dancing with the Stars TV show in early 2009.
To keep up with such a dedicated and driven individual, professional strongmen now enlist the services of professional dieticians, nutritionists and specialist coaches. A science has now evolved and transformed what was once a sideshow into arguably the most intense and demanding sport there is.

The next step for Pudzianowski now comes on December 11 in Warsaw, where, having signed up to Polish promoter Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), he makes his debut in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting against fellow MMA novice Marcin Najman, a one-time contender for the Polish heavyweight boxing title. This has come about due to Mariusz's popularity in Poland and is sure to attract a full house at the 5,000 capacity Torwar Arena.

How this pans out I’m not sure, but the move hardly comes as a surprise. I personally do not watch MMA or UFC as it seems produced simply for its car-crash and bloodlust value.
Eight-ounce boxing gloves are replaced by mitts that offer little protection in the search for brutal knockouts, of which there are plenty. But one thing is for certain, in looking to increase the sport's appeal, the marketers know exactly how to get people excited.

But if Pudzianowski should prove adept at beating people senseless in a cage, then what would that say about the sport of MMA and the promotional rhetoric that it is not about the brutality but the high-skill levels at various martial arts? I think MMA faces a danger of exposing itself if the strongest man in the world can take on and beat MMA champions.