World’s Strongest Scam?

Photo by Salah Malkawi/ Getty Images

Some of the strongest men in the world, including Brian Shaw, Eddie Hall, Martyn Ford, and Mitchell Hooper, were scheduled to compete in a four-man mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament…


World’s Strongest Man Competiton Plays Host in Jordan
Photo by Salah Malkawi/ Getty Images

Some of the strongest men in the world, including Brian Shaw, Eddie Hall, Martyn Ford, and Mitchell Hooper, were scheduled to compete in a four-man mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament back on Feb. 17 at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

The event fell apart a few weeks before fight night, robbing all four combatants of “life-changing money.”

“I just wasted six months of my life for nothing,” Hall said on the Shaw Strength Podcast. “You know, turned down hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of work. It’s affected your business, it’s affected your YouTube. It’s just had this massive knock on effect. It probably lost me… we’re talking six figures, easy. Well, well in the six figures. Probably closer to seven [figures].”

Hall also reveals he got stiffed by promoters for his Thor Bjornsson boxing match.

“We were given contracts and there was no reason to think this was a hoax or a scam or anything,” Hall continued. “It seemed really legit. So, me and you dedicated six months of our lives to that purpose, and that came to a head in the end of January. I’ve carried on with fight training because I really enjoy it and I’ve been talking to other promoters, so there might be some fights coming up soon.”

I hear the Iranian Hulk is still available.

Hall, 36, appears to have taken out his frustrations on a pair of hapless influencers during the World Freak Fight League 1 event earlier this month in Blackburn (highlights here). As for Shaw, now 42, it appears he’s out of the fight game for the foreseeable future.