Eddie Hall, born on January 15, 1988, is a British retired strongman competitor renowned for his incredible feats of strength and his transition into combat sports. He gained widespread recognition for his former world record 500 kg (1,102 lb) deadlift and his victory in the 2017 World's Strongest Man competition. This article delves into Hall's journey, from his early years as a competitive swimmer to his foray into mixed martial arts.
Hall has also won national competitions such as England's Strongest Man, Britain's Strongest Man, and UK's Strongest Man multiple times in the national circuit. Let's explore his path to becoming a strongman icon and his recent venture into the world of MMA.
Early Life and Beginnings
Hall was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme on January 15, 1988. As a teenager, he was a competitive swimmer in his age group; having competed in the UK Nationals swimming competition in 2001, winning four gold medals and one silver while setting two British records. He attended Clayton Hall Academy, but was expelled at the age of 15 and began homeschooling. At the age of 16, he began an apprenticeship as a technician at Lex Commercials, the local DAF Trucks site in Stoke-on-Trent.
Strongman Career
In 2007, Hall entered his first hometown strongman competition, where he achieved a 5th-place finish. A 3rd-place podium finish during a regional strongman competition in 2009 secured Hall an invitation to that year's official England's Strongest Man qualifier, where he narrowly missed qualification. In 2010, after replacing an injured Dave Meer of Tamworth at that year's England's Strongest Man championships, Hall secured his first competition win.
National and International Competitions
He achieved another competition win at UK's Strongest Man 2011 competition in Belfast, with Ken Nowicki in second and Rich Smith in third. During the competition, Hall set a new national record in the Viking Hold, holding on to 20 kg (44lbs) axes in each hand at full stretch for one minute and 18 seconds. Winning the UK title meant that Hall became the first choice to replace Jono MacFarlane of New Zealand in the Giants Live Melbourne event in February 2012, when the latter suffered a back injury. He placed fourth.
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Later, in April 2012, he was invited to compete at Europe's Strongest Man at Headingley Carnegie Stadium. He finished in seventh place. Also in 2012, Hall competed at the World's Strongest Man competition for the first time, but did not progress beyond his qualifying group, which contained Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Mike Jenkins, who qualified for the finals. He competed furthermore across international shows and emerged tenth at Ultimate Strongman series and thirteenth at Gateshead Grand Prix.
In 2013, Hall failed to qualify for Europe's Strongest Man. However, he was given a second chance when Ervin Katona was forced to retire due to injury. Hall competed in his place and came in eighth place. The same year, he placed eleventh at Super Series and was featured on BBC One's Watchdog series when the producers enlisted his help to test the strongest of drivers in specific circumstances. He also competed at that year's World's Strongest Man, winning two events in his heat but narrowly missing out on qualifying for the final. He also placed twelfth at 2013 Giants Live British Open.
In 2014, Hall reached the final of WSM for the first time, coming second in the squat lift and finishing sixth, in one of the most stacked lineups on competitions history which consisted of Žydrūnas Savickas, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson and Brian Shaw in the podium. He also placed fourth at 2014 SCL FIBO and third at Giants Live Hungary behind Jason Bergmann and Matjaz Belsak. In Europe's Strongest Man and SCL World Finals, he finished seventh and second respectively and both competitions were won by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.
In 2015 he entered a competition called Winter Strongman Challenge in Dartford, England which was escalated to an international competition and eventually won it. After placing sixth and fourth in the Arnold Strongman Classic and Arnold Australia, he finished fourth at the World's Strongest Man behind Shaw, Savickas and Björnsson. Also in 2015, Hall surpassed Benedikt Magnússon's deadlift world record with a lift of 462 kg (1,019 lb) in a lowered down deadlift suit and with lifting straps. He placed ninth at Europe's Strongest Man, tenth in Toyota cup and won Battle of the North competition held in Faroe Islands. In December, a feature documentary about Hall called Eddie: Strongman was released.
In 2016 Arnold Strongman Classic, Hall achieved a new world record in the Elephant bar deadlift by grinding 465 kg (1,025 lb) which eventually made him withdraw from the rest of the competition. He then finished third at the World's Strongest Man behind Shaw and Björnsson. In July 2016 Hall broke the deadlift world record under strongman rules (standard bar with figure 8 straps and multi-ply suit) by lifting 500 kg (1,102 lb) at the World Deadlift Championships besting the world record 465 kg (1,025 lb) he previously shared with Jerry Pritchett and Benedikt Magnússon earlier that same day.
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The 500 kg lift made Hall bleed from his ears and nostrils, and made him temporarily blind before he fainted to the floor. The record stood for 3 years and 9 months until May 2020, when it was beaten by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who deadlifted 501 kg (1,105 lb) at the World's Ultimate Strongman Feats of Strength series. Hall heavily disputed the legitimacy of the lift, however Björnsson returned and first deadlifted 505 kg (1,113 lb) at the 2025 Eisenhart Black Deadlift Championships in Germany, and then in just six weeks, speed repped 510 kg (1,124 lb) at the 2025 World Deadlift Championships while winning the entire 6-event Giants Live World Open on the same day, silencing Hall.
He finished the 2016 calendar year by participating at Ultimate Strongman World Championships organized by Glenn Ross and finishing in twelfth place. In 2017 Europe's Strongest Man, Hall finished second behind Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson after a close battle and won Britain's Strongest Man in the national circuit. He then won 2017 World's Strongest Man 1 point ahead of Björnsson, achieving his first and only major win. However, five years later in 2022, the circumstances under this win became notorious after Luke Stoltman's private conversation with World's Ultimate Strongman director Mark Boyd was released to the public, which indicated that it might have been rigged by Colin Bryce in favour of Eddie. Hall ended 2017 with a tenth place finish at Giants Live World Tour Finals.
Hall started his boxing career in 2020 when his rival Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson challenged him after breaking the deadlift world record. He confidently responded "I'm going to train the hardest, eat the hardest, sleep the hardest and recover the hardest" amidst having boxed before and with his swimming background, claiming superior levels of cardio and endurance.
On 19 March 2022, Hall faced Björnsson in Dubai, in a titan weight class boxing match which was tag-lined the heaviest match in history. Hall took the better of the first couple of rounds and managed to put Björnsson down while knocking him against the ropes at the beginning of the second round. But Björnsson bludgeoned Hall and knocked him down twice to the floor in rounds three and six.
MMA Debut Against the Neffati Brothers
On 7 June 2024, Hall made his MMA debut competing in a 2v1 bout against social media influencers the Neffati brothers (Jamil and Jamel). On 26 April 2025 Hall made his professional mixed martial arts debut for KSW facing off against former strongman and mixed martial artist Mariusz Pudzianowski.
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Ahead of his MMA debut, Eddie Hall tipped the scales at a whopping 166.6kg, or 367lb. The towering 6’3″ strongman was set for a 2v1 MMA ‘freak fight’ against influencer siblings The Neffati Brothers. The pair are both less than half his size, and collectively weigh-in at 132kg, or 291lb.
Hall has been training for a debut in the cage since the middle of last year, after losing his boxing debut to Thor Bjornsson in 2022. And he faces a different kind of challenge when he takes on two opponents at once in an outlandish spectacle.
The Face-Off and Press Conference
After the Brit was forced to join via satellite for the first pre-fight press conference, the trio’s press conference on Tuesday was the only time they were able to size each other up. The banter between them was juvenile, before they finally faced off.
Hall had his large water bottle taken from him by one of the brothers, before being subjected to a number of fan questions, mostly from the hometown lads’ own supporters. And when it came time to face off, he was slapped by one of the brothers, who was sitting on his sibling’s shoulders.
This caused a scuffle between the two camps, with security being needed to keep them apart, And when their friend Salim Chiboub, who fights in a dwarf bout on the undercard, continued to kick at Hall’s leg he was thrown across the stage at one of the brothers.
Hall's Motivation for MMA
Following his grudge fight with Thor Bjornsson, Hall took some time away from combat but appeared to always have an eye towards fighting again. After both men dropped each other in a thrilling ‘titanweight’ contest in Dubai, the pair opted not to rematch and ended up leaving boxing.
But Hall continued to train and was due to take part in a tournament with some other strongmen this February before funding fell apart at the last minute. Instead, he stayed in the gym and has now signed up for this outlandish outing.
Since his last fight, he famously recorded the strongest punch in the history of the UFC Performance Insitute during a visit to Las Vegas. Francis Ngannou had previously held the record, and it has since been broken by UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
“This 2v1 is completely different and I never thought I’d have this offer on the table,” Hall told the gathered Blackburn crowd at Tuesday’s press conference. “I’ve took it knowing full well that it’s going to end up bringing more work in. I enjoy the combat side of things, I enjoy training with these two [his training team], you get to bond with your coach."
Life After Strongman
Since his retirement from strongman in 2018, Hall has provided commentary for subsequent competitions. In 2018, Hall appeared on the Channel 5 show Celebs In Solitary, where he attempted to spend five days in solitary confinement. In 2019, Hall presented the SPORTbible webseries Beasted! where he, along with Luke Fullbrook and Chris Peil, helped guide eight men through exercise plans and diets to improve their fitness. Hall is also one of four strongmen, together with Nick Best, Robert Oberst, and Brian Shaw, featured in the History Channel series, The Strongest Man in History where they tried to replicate or surpass historical feats of strength.
Key Achievements and Records
Here's a summary of Eddie Hall's notable achievements:
| Achievement | Year |
|---|---|
| World's Strongest Man Winner | 2017 |
| 500 kg (1,102 lb) Deadlift World Record | 2016 |
| UK's Strongest Man Winner | 2011 |
| England's Strongest Man Winner | 2010 |