World’s Strongest Man 2017 tries his hand at medieval sports in Sheffield

Eddie Hall – who won the title of World’s Strongest Man in 2017 – came to the city to give medieval martial arts a go ahead of a new TV series called Knight Fight.

Eddie donned a full suit of armour at Northern Lists 5v5 Combat Training Arena in Burngreave and learned how to fight before sparring against a professional. 

He said: “I think being thrown in the ring and having experienced it, I can say this is a really tough sport.

“These men are really putting their lives on the line for this.

“I think I’d only have another go if there was a big prize pot, if there was a £1 million fund up for grabs I’d maybe give it a try.”

The Sheffield combat arena attracts people from across the country and is now looking ahead to the ‘Battle of the Nations’ Elimination World Championships.

Northern Lists 5v5 owner David Murray said: “Eddie had a day of training, having a go at throwing axes and using maces. We then got him in armour. One of the lads hit him round the head and I don’t think he realised how heavy the hits were going to be.”

The professional strongman decided to take a break from competing after the 2017 competition and is now looking to improve his fitness.

Eddie said: “When I was training for World’s Strongest Man I wasn’t just training for a couple of hours a day, it was Strongest Man through and through.

“Now my training has taken a completely different direction which involves a lot of swimming and cycling, it’s much more about getting fit, I’ve lost nearly six stone.”

Knight Fight, a new History Channel series, will be presented by a team of experts including WWE star Christian Cage.

Each episode follows six competitors as they battle with axes, swords, shields and spears while wearing over 36kg of armour until only one knight is left standing.