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The World’s Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper had been in the news for his upcoming involvement in the Finishers Championship, a mixed martial arts event that was set to be held in Qatar. However, as the date for the event nears, Hooper has now announced his withdrawal from the event.

Hooper didn’t just announce his absence from the much-awaited event but also exposed the reasons behind the decision. Mentioning Eddie Hall, Brian Shaw, and Martyn Ford on his Instagram story full of explanations, he made it public how he had doubts about the organization behind the event from the beginning.

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“For those who haven’t realized @finisherschampionship is a off,” Hooper wrote in his story. Revealing how the amount he was promised for the event was reduced drastically, Hooper remembered how “they came to us with an offer of $30M each.” According to the strongman, the offer later came down to $3M each.

Hooper further explained how there was a major change in the investors as the event inched nearer. In the beginning, it was marketed as a Saudi-backed venture, but as days went by, they were informed that it was not the Saudis anymore, but some private companies that had taken the responsibility for funding. Later, the organizers claimed the involvement of the Qatar government as well. “Around 6 weeks ago, we were told the Qatar government was in. Sent some ridiculous pictures of them celebrating with cake… it looked like they had a few separate parties.”

Hooper also went on to call out the company for their irrational work ethics and wrote, “They are snake oil salesman who dangled a huge carrot with no real ability on their end to fulfill promises.” Owing to the same, Hooper did little to no training for the event. “I spent 0 time training for this because I had a gut feeling that they were useless and I’ll be ready for the 2024 season,” he stated.

On the other hand, even as Hooper announced his withdrawal, there has been no official cancellation from the event organizers.

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Finishers championship set to happen on February 17

According to the Finishers Championship’s official website, the event is still scheduled to happen on February 17th at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha. However, it does not have Hooper’s name on the fighters’ list, along with Shaw, Eddie, and Ford.

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Many fans have taken to commenting on the event’s Instagram posts, upset about not seeing the famous Strongmen on the roster. “Bring back the REAL strongmen !! Eddie,Mitch, Brian, and Martin !!! Event is s joke!!” one of the comments on a fighter introduction post read. While ridiculing the event for its current lineup, another fan wrote, “Eddie Hall has lost abit of weight here.”

Even as the event is set to go ahead on schedule, it remains to be seen if, without the presence of the much-touted strongmen, it would gain the fanfare that was expected. Would you go ahead and watch it? Let us know in the comments below.