Eddie Hall’s bizarre 2v1 fight provided one of the most viral knockouts of 2024, but it almost didn’t happen without a referee’s intervention.
The 2017 World’s Strongest Man knocked out both of the Neffati Brothers, a pair of influencers whom Hall outweighed by over 62lb collectively, in June of last year. The siblings put on the event as part of the only World Freak Fight League event and seemed to have a solid game plan.
They avoided engaging in the first two rounds, throwing the odd leg kick before sprinting away to safety to secure the round on the scorecards. But when the referee told the three fighters that action was needed in the final seconds, they ended up being both badly hurt.
Eddie Hall was given five word message by referee in 2v1 freak fight
Eddie Hall’s MMA debut came last summer after a tournament with three other famed strongmen fell through in Qatar. He opted to use his training for a 2v1 ‘freak fight’ against the Neffati Brothers, who are a pair of featherweights.
Hall’s viral knockout of the two brothers made the event a hit online, but papered over the cracks of an otherwise incredibly dull affair. The siblings endeavoured to stay as far from the strongman as possible, and were winning on the scorecards as a result until the final seconds.
“It was the last round, we had 30 seconds to go,” Hall recalled in an exclusive chat with Bloody Elbow. “The referee came to us both after the second round and said ‘look, we need some f—ing action’.
“So that last few seconds they decided to come at me and it was just perfect. I gripped them, threw them around, you can train for years and years and years for just five seconds of destruction and that’s exactly what it was.
“It got to the third round and they were up on points because they were landing leg kicks, then kept running away. If it had gone to the scorecards 100 per cent they would have beat me on points so I was getting pretty frustrated.
“Obviously, they were small guys, two 65kg guys and you’d never live it down would you? So I think it was super important that the action happened right at the end, it saved everything.”
Eddie Hall now faces Mariusz Pudzianowski in battle of World’s Strongest Man winners
Since that infamous night in Blackburn, Eddie Hall has been pushing for a fight with his fellow former World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski. Next weekend, he gets that chance at KSW 105 in Gliwice, Poland.
The super-heavyweight duo share six WSM titles between them, with the Polish powerhouse winning it five times before moving into the cage. The pair will do battle on pay-per-view over two rounds of four minutes.
“I’m strong and I’m a big believer that taking that into MMA makes you more dangerous,” Hall said. “Mariusz proved that point when he first came into MMA and fought around 140kg, his size and strength; people were just s— scared of him.
“I’ve never heard a fighter come out of a fight and say ‘I wish I was weaker for that fight’. Never heard that, as long as you’re fit enough be as fit as you can be.”
