Sayed al Essawy, an Egyptian who claims to be the world’s strongest man, announced he will be fighting a 10-year-old, 230 kg lion, in front of the pyramids, to boost his country’s tourism business.

I know it sounds silly, but Sayed is very serious about his plan, despite international outrage from animal activists. He claims he discovered his incredible strength when he was only 13, and almost immediately afterwards promised himself he would one day fight a lion. With the current state of the economy in Egypt, because of the recent revolution, Sayed al Essawy thought this was the perfect time to fulfill his childhood dream and at the same time boost his country’s tourism business by promoting the fight.

In an interview with Al Masry Al Youm, Essawy confessed there is also a very serious political message that he wants to send. After he has vanquished the lion, he wants to place an Israeli flag on its body and put his foot on it. He says it was Israel who pushed him to do this, with all the atrocities they committed while he was growing up, and now he wants to prove that even though Israel and America are as strong as lions, they can still be defeated by the Arab youth, which is about to explode…

Sayed al Essawy says the lion is currently housed on a friend’s farm, and that he hasn’t spent much time with it, for fear he might become too attached to it. Although the fight will take place in a cage, he plans to give the feline a fair chance, by not administering it any tranquilizers, and by fighting it with his bare hands. The Egyptian strong man says he’s even developed a new fighting style, especially for this epic confrontation, called “Life or Death”, but that the most important training method has been meditation. He visualizes the fight for two hours at a time, anticipating all the ways the lion could attack him and the best ways to dodge his charges. He claims he has no fear for his life, and that he’s actually more worried about the lion. He has also fought aggressive dogs in the past, so he has a little experience with animals…

As you’ve probably already guessed, Sayed hasn’t managed to get all the permits he needs to stage the fight in front of the pyramids, especially after the international outrage from animal activists. The would-be lion fighter claims he is disappointed by their reaction, and claims they misunderstood his intentions. He doesn’t intend to of kill the big cat, but he is prepared to do it, if the lion gives him no other choice. If the animal acknowledges his strength, backs away and lets Sayed tie him up, he will spare his life, but if it turns into a life or death situation, he might be forced to kill him, with his bare hands. When is fighting a lion not a matter of life or death, right? But I’m not worried about the lion, if Sayed actually plans to fight fair…

If he doesn’t get all the approvals he needs, Sayed al Essawy plans to stage the fight in a secret location and invite just a few important journalists able to spread the news about his bravery and incredible strength, and deliver his message to the world. After he defeats the king of the jungle, the self-proclaimed world’s strongest man wants to pull  an airplane with his teeth, with his hair, get run over by a plane and stage more lion fights in-between.