It took Sean McCorkle less than two minutes to defeat the five-time World’s Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski. But what McCorkle said afterward was just as memorable as his victory.
After he’d closed out Pudzianowski with a kimura, McCorkle was interviewed about the fight. And while trying to ingratiate himself to the local fans at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland as well as the promotion, McCorkle made an interesting declaration.
“I’ve got a two-fight deal, and I’d love to come back as many time as they’ll have me,” he said following the KSW 23 co-main event. “This is now my new favorite country in the world, including the United States.”
McCorkle indicated that his reasons were political, saying that Poland didn’t start wars to get other country’s natural resources.
Before he left, he had other compliments to pay to the locals.
“The people here are the most polite, the nicest, and this production is better than UFC,” he said.
McCorkle had a three-fight run in UFC from late 2010 to early 2011, beating Mark Hunt by submission in his debut before losing fights to Stefan Struve and Christian Morecraft.
Finally, he gave ultimate credit to his opponent, Pudzianowski, calling him “by far the strongest human being I’ve ever felt.” McCorkle came into the fight with a big size advantage, weighing 309 pounds to Pudzianowski’s 265.
McCorkle had lost three straight prior to the bout, and the win improved his record to 17-5. Pudzianowski fell to 5-3 with 1 no contest.