Former world’s strongest man and 'Game of Thrones' star Hafthor Bjornsson sent a strong message to Eddie Hall after stopping Devon Larratt in round one of their heavyweight contest at Fight Night-3 in Dubai.
Bjornsson, 32, fired a barrage of punches as Larrat, 46, struggled against the onslaught before the referee stopped the contest on Saturday.
Larrat, who is an arm wrestling legend, took a standing count midway through the round before the referee stepped in.
“Devon is such a warrior, he has the biggest heart,” Bjornsson said after the bout.
“I know that guy is something else, taking the fight on five-week notice is brave but coming here is mind-blowing.
“You guys know who I want to fight, come on who is it? I know he is at home chilling on the sofa with his popcorn and cola. Enjoy your life buddy, I am gonna knock you out soon.”
That was a salvo fired at fellow strongman Eddie Hall to settle their long-running rivalry. The Bjornsson-Hall meeting has been rescheduled for early 2022.
In the rest of the fight card, Jacob Heppner came out on top against Josh Bridges on points in the battle of CrossFit rivals.
Dubai-based Dutchman Anthony de Bruijn scored a unanimous points decision over Georgian Giorgi Gachechildadze for his 10th professional career win in the lightweight division.
Heavyweight sensation Martin Bakole returned to the ring in style as he needed less than a round to knock out Haruna Osumanu.
Bakole (17-1, 13 KOs) was competing for the first time since December 2020, and he proved his mettle yet again with his stoppage win over Osumanu (11-3, 7 KOs) coming in just 150 seconds.
Stefi Cohen remained unbeaten in her professional boxing career as she drew with undefeated Marcela Nieto after four rounds.
Avril Mathie earned another impressive victory by defeating previously unbeaten Jesca Mfinanga.
Mathie (7-0-1, 3 KOs) was in control throughout the fight, but Mfinanga (2-1-1) managed to last the distance, with the bout going all six rounds.