The guy on the left is the Goliath from polska known as Mariusz Pudzianowski, recently named “Strongest Man in the World.” Last week, he made his MMA debut to 6 million viewers in Poland and wrecked Marcin Najman in the 1st round. Basically, he leg-kicked Najman around the ring, Najman crapped his pants when he got backed into a corner, fell to the mat, Pudz swarmed him with hammer fists until the ref had to basically spear him off the poor guy to stop the fight via TKO.
In related news, if I saw someone Pudz’s size across from me in a cage, ring, or, even Times Square, I’d immediately crap my pants as well.
Aside from the fight, what interested me most is the viewership for KSW’s event:
The TV broadcast of KSW 12: Pudzianowski vs. Najman peaked at over SIX MILLION VIEWERS Friday night on Polsat. About 15% of Poland’s population saw the fight (courtesy of Bloody Elbow)
This goes to show that the over saturation of cable television channels, which erode viewership from broadcast networks, hinders more widespread fighter/league exposure here in the States. To take that one step further, the fight took place on Friday night (!). The last time I gave a damn about watching TV on a Friday night was the ABC TGIF lineup. Long live Boy Meets World.
