The ‘Iranian Hulk’ denies taking steroids to beef up his physique

The 30-year-old, whose real name is Sajad Gharibi, stands six feet two inches and weighs around 390lbs.

He is due to take on the ‘World's Scariest Man' English bodybuilder Martyn Ford at The O2 Arena in London on April 30.

Ahead of his maiden encounter in the ring he appeared on Iranian TV when he offered to do a blood test to prove his innocence after he was asked if he used steroids by the host.

“I am ready to do a blood test to prove that I have never used steroids,” Gharibi declared.

Asked about fans who had accused him of being “fake” on social media, he replied: “Look, those who have been following me on Instagram and know me since the old days.

“They have watched my live videos and the ones I had posted and have seen me when I had just joined Instagram and had a lot more weight on.

“I had 120,000- 200,000 followers then. If you ask my followers about how I lost weight, they would say I had done it little by little. I was categorised in the extra heavy weight category in 2019.

“After the pandemic was started in 2020 and after gyms were closed, I slowly lost weight; but the question is why do they compare photos from 2017 with the recent ones? Some rumour-making press would come and make such comparisons, while I posted some old videos and videos cannot be photoshopped.

“There are also some of my live videos available on YouTube, they are undeniable! I wear XXXXXXXL sized clothes. When I used to weigh more, those clothes looked tight for me.”

His rival, the heavily tattooed Ford, is a 6ft 8 inches tall fitness trainer, who has also appeared in films such as Fast & Furious 9 and the Kingsman: the Golden Circle.

Although Gharibi’s weightlifting body has caused a stir online and is said to weigh a massive 370lbs, much more than Ford's 309lbs, the Brit was unimpressed after their first meeting with the Iranian.

He claimed the Hulk’s photos had actually been photoshopped and was not as big as he claims.

"He was not what I expected," Ford stated.

"I think he's just fooled the world with photoshop, if I'm honest. Seeing him in real life is not as impressive as seeing him in pictures.

"So disheartening I think is the word. He was tiny.

"He didn't look anything like he had made out.

"That was the first time I'd seen him in real-life. He was big, probably bigger than 18 stone, but he wasn't scary big. He just felt like a big kid that didn't really train if I'm being honest.

"He was supposed to be twice my size."