Denis Cyplenkov: The Hulk With the Biggest Hands in Arm Wrestling

Some arm wrestlers are known for a technique, a title, or a rivalry. Denis Cyplenkov is known for his hands. The Ukrainian-born powerhouse — universally called "The Hulk" — has hands so large they've become the sport's most-shared image, and the strength to match. For a stretch, he was arguably the strongest human being ever to sit at an arm wrestling table.

From strongman to the table

Cyplenkov was born March 10, 1982, in Krivoi Rog, Ukraine. He didn't start in arm wrestling — he came up through raw strength sports. A chance meeting with strongman legend Vladimir Turchinsky in 2002 pulled him into the "Marcus Aurelius" club, where he excelled at "power extreme" and powerlifting before transitioning to arm wrestling under coach Moiseyev. That strongman base is exactly why his arm wrestling felt different: he wasn't a technician who got strong, he was a colossus who learned to pull.

By the numbers

Nickname	"The Hulk"
Born	Krivoi Rog, Ukraine
Country	Russia
Height	6'1" (186 cm)
Weight	287 lb (130 kg)
Biceps	21.3" (54 cm)
Forearm	17.7" (45 cm)
Wrist	9.4" (24 cm)

(Stats per his goldsarm.com profile — among the largest ever recorded in the sport.)

Those hands

You cannot talk about Cyplenkov without talking about his hands — widely considered among the largest and strongest in the sport's history. In arm wrestling, hand and wrist size is a direct mechanical advantage: it lets you control your opponent's hand, own the grip, and dictate the match before real force is even applied. Cyplenkov's freakish dimensions gave him a starting position most opponents simply couldn't overcome.

The Larratt shutout

His signature result came in 2018, when he faced Devon Larratt — one of the most skilled pullers alive — in an international supermatch and won 6–0. Shutting out an athlete of Larratt's caliber isn't just a win; it's a statement about a different tier of raw power. It remains one of the most cited results in modern arm wrestling. (You can read Larratt's side of that era in his own profile.)

Health battles

The same extreme strength that made Cyplenkov unstoppable also took a toll. After a heavy training session in 2018, a blood vessel in his kidney collapsed, requiring a stent, and he was later diagnosed with neuritis — nerve inflammation that affected part of his face. Those problems forced him to stop training super-heavy movements and step away from competition for years. It's the quiet tragedy behind the highlight reels: a body pushed to a limit few ever reach, then paying for it.

The Brzenk comeback

In February 2023, at King of the Table 6 — after roughly four years away — Cyplenkov returned to face John Brzenk, the sport's enduring GOAT, and won 6–0 despite the long layoff. To beat a legend like Brzenk that decisively after years off the table is almost unheard of, and it reminded everyone that even a diminished Hulk is a nightmare matchup.

Legacy

Cyplenkov's place among the greatest arm wrestlers of all time is secure. He's the reference point for pure power in the sport — proof that in arm wrestling, structure and leverage (hands, wrist, forearm) can beat almost anything. For everyday pullers, that's the lesson worth stealing: the levers that win are trainable and worth tracking, even if you'll never have his mitts.

The takeaway

Denis Cyplenkov is arm wrestling's ultimate "what raw strength looks like" answer — a strongman who became a legend at the table, gave the sport some of its most iconic images and results, and paid a real physical price for operating at the absolute edge of human power.