Strong man Mariusz Pudzianowski (left) prepares to have his hand raised at KSW 14 in Poland after taking down and pounding out Eric "Butterbean" Esch.

It’s questionable whether or not Butterbean can even get up off the ground once he’s on his back at all, much less with a 250+ lb. man on top of him.

Eric “Butterbean” Esch (15-8) and five time World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski (3-1) clashed this weekend at KSW 14 in Poland. Butterbean had called Pudzianowski out saying he hit like a girl after watching his fight against Tim Sylvia at Moosin.

Pudzianowski took the challenge, ended up putting Butterbean on his back early in the fight and pounded on his bald head until the ref pulled him off. Pudzianowski acted like he did not want to stop the beating and the ref had to use force to get him to stop.

Pudzianowski  seems a bit leaner than his previous fights and maybe a little more agile. He says he’s taking the sport seriously, but if he wants the fans to take him seriously he’s going to have to avoid these freak show fights.

6 thoughts on “Freak show of the week: Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Butterbean fight video”
  1. If he wants what fans to take him seriously He’ll avoid these freak show fights?

    What fans?
    The fans who think all mma should allow elbows on the ground, involve a lot of grappling, all be 5 rds. 7 for title fights…lol. have title contenders lined up months in advance and ban 1 night tourney’s?

    Those fans are in the minority and catering to them will lose viewers, sponsors, TV exposure, etc.

    There’s definitely a place for the so-called “freak show” fights in Mixed Martial Arts.

  2. Probably because he’s not ready for a “real fighter”.
    You saw the Sylvia fight right?

    He’s had what 3 or 4 fights aside from that .
    You think it’ll be beneficial for him to fight Andrei Arlovski or Josh Barnett? I think that’s more freak showish if you will then him fighting someone on his level.

    A fight with Bobby Lashley seems more appropriate to me.

  3. I don’t think anyone is saying he should be fighting a top heavyweight. But if he wants to be taken seriously then he should fight a legitimate fighter which Butterbean is not. There are plenty of up and coming heavyweights with similar records or even more experienced established fighters. Obviously he wasn’t ready for the Tim Sylvia’s of the world, we saw that. But this is like the exact complete opposite of Tim Sylvia. Literally all one has to do to beat Butterbean is take him down, that’s it. He’ll never be able to get up. There is a place for freak shows in MMA no doubt. They’re fun to watch. But if a fighter wants to pursue MMA as a legitimate sport and really wants to build a respectable career he’s not going to want to continue fighting a bunch of freak shows. This is really the first freak show fight of Pudz’s career from what I remember. That’s fine. Even Fedor had one or two. But those aren’t the fights that gain the fans’ respect nor the fights that will be talked about in the history books.

  4. I can understand the publicity side of it if he can’t secure a fight with a real fighter, but I think it is pretty clear that the freak shows hurt the overall view of the sport. Personally, I don’t even put this type of fight and an MMA fight, at any level, in the same category.

    Freak shows have their place in the world but if he wants to be taken seriously he has to place himself in a position to be taken seriously.

    Great article and great comments.

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