Devon Larratt

Devon Larratt (born 24 April 1975) is a Canadian professional armwrestler, content creator, and a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces. Considered to be one of the best arm wrestlers in the world and as of the King Of The Table 7 event, the title holder of the best arm wrestler in North America, he has collaborated to popularize the sport to a wider audience.

Early life

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada to a German mother, Devon could speak German up until he was 6 years old. His interest in arm wrestling began as an early teenager. Larratt's first opponent was his grandmother, a farmworker, who claimed to be "the best arm-wrestling woman in Alberta." From there, Larratt progressed to competing on the oil fields of western Canada. Larratt joined the Canadian Armed Forces at the age of 21, where he served with Joint Task Force 2 for sixteen years. He achieved the rank of master corporal, and was deployed seven times to Afghanistan, where he was wounded in action. Despite his deployments, Larratt managed to train and compete during his military service, and credits the experience gained at different military bases as a large part of his success. Larratt also competed in Judo during his youth.

Early career

In 1999, Larratt won the Ontario Provincial Championships in left and right handed, Larratt also competed in the Canadian Nationals in left and right handed in the 100 kg competition winning both. Larratt entered his first international competition, competing at WAF Worlds event in Japan, where he defeated Krister Jonsson and lost to John Brzenk. Larratt placed third in the left handed and right handed 100 kg competition.

In 2000, Larratt won the Ontario Provincial Championships in the left and right handed in his category. Larratt placed first at the Canadian Nationals in right handed and second in left handed.

In 2001, Larratt won the Ontario Provincial Championship in the left and right handed and also won the Canadian Nationals in left handed and right handed.

In 2002, Larratt won the "All Niagara Armwrestling Championships" as right handed at 199+ lbs competition.

In 2003, Larratt won at the Ontario Provincial Championships in the right handed at 221+ lbs and also in the Central Ontario Championships Larratt defeated Robert Graham, Garth Carlson and Mike Gould.

In 2004, Devon Larratt once again dominated the Central Ontario Championships, but lost a super match in Chehalis, Washington against John Brzenk.

In 2005, Larratt defeated Tim Bresnan 3-0 in a supermatch, at Battle in the Capital II in Ottawa, Ontario.

In 2006, after returning from a six-month deployment, Larratt defeated Ron Bath 3–1, at a Mike Gould Classic event in Ontario, Canada. At the time Ron Bath was considered the #3 ranked heavy weight in North America, behind only John Brzenk and Travis Bagent. Devon Larratt has stated that this was his favorite match, "for a number of reasons", but mostly because of the difficulties and stressors of combat, and the uncertainty of returning to a "normal life". Larratt was shot, and took shrapnel to the hand while deployed to Afghanistan. Months later, Laratt faced the Ukrainian champion Taras Ivakin at Professional Armwrestling League (PAL) Vendetta/Armfight #26 and lost, 2-4.

Career timeline

Arm Wars & Supermatches

In 2007, Devon Larratt joined Arm Wars, again defeating Ron Bath, this time with a score of 6–0 in the Arm Wars X event at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, England in the right and left arm.

In 2008, Larratt faced Travis Bagent in Arm Wars XI in a right hand match, winning 5-1, although he lost 1-5 in the left hand match. Later that year Larratt was the first man in twenty five years to beat John Brzenk in a super-match at Arm Wars "Deep Water", on September 13. After defeating that arm-wrestling legend, 6–0, Larratt became an internationally recognized armwrestler, and was considered the new #1 ranked right handed arm-wrestler in the world. Later Devon beat Johan Lindholm 6-0 in the same day in the right arm. In the same event, Larratt also beat Michael Todd 6-0 and Marcio Barboza 5-1 in the left hand to both.

In 2009, Devon Larratt beat super-heavyweight Dave Randall in a supermatch 2-0, at Northeast Armwrestling Challenge VII (NEAC VII).

In 2010, Devon Larratt beat Travis Bagent 4–3, Tim Bresnan 5–1, and Don Underwood 4–3, to become the #1 ranked arm-wrestler in the world (both left and right).

In 2010, Devon Larratt defeated former Arnold Classic champion and number one contender, Don Underwood, to retain the right-hand title.

In 2011, Devon Larratt beat "Monster" Michael Todd and Christophe Ladu. Devon Larratt lost his left-hand title to Travis Bagent at UAL Backyard Brawl, but beat Bagent 3-0 for the right hand title at the same event.

UAL/MLA/PAL Armfight

In 2012, after Arm Wars went into abeyance, Devon Larratt participated in UAL/MLA and PAL Armfight tournaments, where he defeated Tim Bresnan for the Major League Armwrestling (MLA) in the Toronto Pro Super Show for right hand super heavy weight title in Ontario, Canada. In the same year, Larratt defeated Andrey Pushkar at Professional Armwrestling League (PAL) Armfight #42, winning 5–1 to win the left hand world title.

In 2013, Larratt beat Oleg Zhokh, Wilton Brock, and Eric Woelfel at Ultimate Armwrestling League 4 (UAL 4) to retain his left hand heavyweight title. He then underwent surgery on both elbows. As a result of the injury, Larratt lost his number one pound-for-pound ranking. He underwent a similar procedure on his left elbow in 2016, but was able to recover much faster, returning to win the WAL championship in the same year.

WAL & Supermatches

After recovering from elbow surgery, Devon Larratt joined the World Armwrestling League (WAL) in 2014. His first WAL event took place in January 2015, where he won the left-handed title, defeating Marcio Barboza, 2–0. At the same event, Larratt lost the right-handed title to Marcio Barboza 0–2.

Later in 2015, Larratt defeated Ron Bath left handed and right handed at WAL Southern Regionals. Larratt won the WAL Championships left-hand heavyweight title after Marcio Barboza withdrew (injury). In the right handed semi-finals, Larratt lost to American arm-wrestling legend John Brzenk. While Larratt won the first match in the straps, Brzenk displayed superior hand control and dominated the next two matches outside of the straps to win 2–1.

In 2016, Larratt defeated Matt Mask left handed and right handed at WAL Northern Regionals. Larratt returned to peak form, successfully defending his left-hand title against Matt Mask and winning the WAL right-hand title against top contenders Marcio Barboza and Ron Bath.

In 2017, Larratt retained the WAL right-hand and left-hand heavyweight titles by defeating perennial rival Matt Mask. Larratt also defended his right-hand legacy hammer against a challenge from "Big Frank" Budelewski at Buffalo Fitness Expo 2017, the event also had a charitable aspect to it, and left hand hammer against Zhao Zi Rui of China at the Super Armwrestling League (SAL) in a supermatch.

On May 17, 2018, at WAL 402, Larratt defeated American super heavyweight "Big Daddy" Jerry Cadorette, 3–2, in a right handed supermatch. At WAL 405, Larratt defeated Matt Mask 3–1. At WAL 406, Larratt lost the right-hand championship to Michael Todd. Later that year, during Armfight #50, Larratt lost a left handed super match against Russian wrestling armwrestler Denis Cyplenkov, in which Cyplenkov won 6–0. After the match, Larratt said Cyplenkov was most likely "25 to 30% stronger". Larratt subsequently rededicated himself to strength training. After these matches, Larratt sent the right handed legacy hammer to Michael Todd and the left handed legacy hammer to Denis Cyplenkov.

On May 23, 2019, at WAL 501, Devon Larratt beat Todd Hutchings 3–0. Hutchings, who typically competes in lower weight classes, performed admirably. In July 2019, at WAL 504, Larratt beat Dave Chaffee 3–1, displaying an impressive king's move and much improved strength. Later that year, at WAL 506, Larratt beat Brazilian champion Wagner Bortolato left-handed 3–1. Devon Larratt also beat the Australian champion Ryan Scott 3–0 in a AAF (Australian Armwrestling Federation) supermatch at the Arnold Classic on March 26, 2019.

In March 2021, at BAL 204, Larratt defeated Janek Kwias in a supermatch.

King of the Table

On May 28, 2021, less than five months after recovering from deep vein thrombosis, Devon Larratt agreed to meet Michael Todd at King of the Table (KOTT) in Dubai for the right-hand heavyweight title. In one of the most hyped matches of all time, Larratt avenged his 2018 loss in dramatic fashion by defeating number one ranked Michael Todd 6–0. Larratt surprised the arm-wrestling community by weighing in heavy at 293 pounds. After the match, Michael Todd stated that the 2021 version of Devon Larratt was the "strongest arm-wrestler he ever faced". Ryan "Blue" Bowen, currently ranked #3 in Australia, speculated that the 2021 version of Larratt may be the "strongest arm-wrestler the world has ever seen", noting that no arm-wrestler has ever defeated Michael Todd "so significantly".

On December 11, 2021, at King of the Table II, Devon Larratt beat John Brzenk 4-0 for the right-hand heavy weight title. Larratt was impressive throughout the match, controlling the hand and wrist of John Brzenk in three of the four rounds; when Brzenk did manage to take the hand and wrist in round 1, Larratt was able to stop the drive and make the necessary tactical adjustments. Larratt weighed in at 129.5 kilos, or 285.5 pounds.

Legacy Hammer

The Legacy Hammer, which was presented to Devon Larratt after he defeated Michael Todd at KOTT 1, has since been passed to Levan Saginashvili, who defeated him at KOTT 4. The hammer, although created by the WAL exclusively for its champions, is a symbolic representation of the world's best armwrestler, and the wielder of the legacy hammer must ensure that the hammer belongs to the person most worthy. Current hammer holders as of June 25, 2022 are Levan Saginashvili (right hand) and Denis Cyplenkov (left hand).

Exhibition Boxing

On August 16, 2021, Devon Larratt accepted a boxing match with the World's Strongest Man Champion Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Larratt, who had no previous boxing experience, trained for the match at Tristar Gym, owned by Firas Zahabi. The gym is notable for training a number of top mixed martial artists, including UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre. When asked why he accepted the match on short notice, Devon stated that he "knows a lot about the sport of arm-wrestling", and that "abandoning his area of expertise" to enter a "fighter dorm", with "professional fighters", is an "opportunity to grow as a human being".

The match took place in Dubai, on September 18, 2021, where Larratt lost to Björnsson by technical knockout. Larratt landed an early right hook on Björnsson, but Björnsson dominated the rest of the fight with superior foot work and a hard jab. With twenty five seconds remaining in the first round, Björnsson stunned Larratt with a left hook. While some criticized the referee for jumping in prematurely, Devon said it was "probably a good thing the referee stopped the fight".

Levan & East vs West Debut

On December 18, 2021, King of the Table announced that Devon Larratt will face Levan Saginashvili at King of the Table 4 (KOTT 4). The match took place in Dubai, on June 25, 2022. Levan Saginashvili is considered the #1 right handed armwrestler in the world today and the Strongest armwrestler in history. As a heavy underdog, Devon's only chances of winning the match would be to stop Levan's explosive drive, regrip, and drain the power from Levan's hands. During the match, any small hope Larratt had of winning would disappear with an early bicep injury and he would go on to lose 6–0.

Later that year, on November 19, Devon Larratt would make his first appearance at an East vs West event, dropping one weight class, and facing the then Heavyweight Champion of East vs West, Evgeny Prudnik. Devon participated in this match because Prudnik's originally scheduled opponent (Michael Todd) had to withdraw due to injury. Devon won the match, besting Prudnik to a score of 3-0 and gaining the Heavyweight Title of the event.

2023

In a pre-recorded Arm Wars Dark Card event that aired on February 4, Devon Larratt faced Sandris Sedis twice, both in right and left handed matches. Devon won both, 6-0 and 4-2 respectively, retaining his Heavyweight title.

Larratt decided that he would return to the Super-Heavyweight class due to lack of competition among the Heavyweights. His first Super Heavyweight match of the year would be against the Georgian Genadi Kvikvinia on May 6 and after 5 rounds of struggling coming from both sides, Genadi came out on top, besting Devon 3-2.

Immediately after the Genadi match, Devon Larratt traveled to the UK for Arm Wars Dark Card 2. He participated in a 2 Round Supermatch Tournament on the left hand called Battleground, defeating Mindaugas Dulskas in the 1st round and then Daniel Lund Kristensen in the Championship, both by a score of 6-0. On June 10, Larratt continued his left hand winning streak by defeating Bulgarian champion Yordan Tsonev at Be Strong Armwrestling 4.

On June 24, Devon Larratt would have a match at King of the Table 7 against Dave Chaffee for the King of the North title, which is the title for best armwrestler in North America. Despite Devon having a bout with food poisoning just 2 days before the match, he would go on to win with a dominant 6-0 victory.

On July 1, Larratt defeated Ryan Espey at the Canadian National Championships. However, the legitimacy of this match has been called into question by Espey because it was part of a tournament, Espey only had a few days notice that the match was taking place, and Larratt (who showed up to only compete against Espey) allegedly forfeited matches so that he could face Espey. The forfeited matches would have not only made Devon more rested than Espey for their match, but it would also allow Devon's opponents that got wins by forfeit to move on in the tournament without earning it.

On August 12, Larratt defeated Sergey Kalinichenko in an exhibition supermatch.

On August 26, Larratt would face the then reigning Super-Heavyweight East vs West champion, Ermes Gasparini, for the East vs West Super-Heavyweight Title. Larratt was originally scheduled to face Genadi Kvikvinia on this date in a rematch, but Genadi suffered a serious bicep injury while training. The supermatch against Gasparini would be the best of five rounds. The difference, however, is that both Devon and Ermes agreed that all five rounds would be pulled. An underdog in this bout, Devon would decisively defeat Gasparini 5 - 0 to become, at age 48, the oldest Super-Heavyweight champion in arm wrestling history. In the first round, Devon would win through fouls. Though, the second and third rounds were more decisive, with Larratt being able to pin Gasparini in both rounds. Gasparini eventually decided to not pull the 4th and 5th rounds due to being too tired.

On August 30, Devon Larratt defeated Georgi Tsvetkov 6-0 in a long and hard fought left handed match at Arm Wars Dark Card 3.

On November 11, in a highly anticipated rematch, Larratt defended his East vs West Super-Heavyweight Title against Denis Cyplenkov at East vs West 10, Denis said he would be around 85% - 90% of what he was at his prime. This match was considered by many to be "the biggest match in the history of the sport". Larratt won 5-0. Cyplenkov eventually decided to not pull the 4th and 5th rounds.

On December 9, Devon Larratt would have another match against Georgi Tsvetkov, this time on the right hand. It was at King of the Table 9 for the Super-Heavyweight title. Devon won the match 6-0. Tsvetkov eventually decided to not pull the 6th round.

2024

Larratt would start the year competing on the left hand at the Arm Wars The Gathering II event in Las Vegas. On January 5, in an unscheduled but serious supermatch leading up to the event, Larratt would defeat the 3rd-ranked American Super-Heavyweight Pavlo Derbedyenyev 3-1. At the official event on January 8, Larratt would lose to Kamil Jablonski 5-1. It was Larratt’s first loss on the left hand since 2018.

On 20th April, Devon Larratt faced Levan Saginashvili in a rematch at East vs West 12, in a right handed best of 7 supermatch. Larratt would lose by a score of 4-0, passing on the East vs West Super-Heavyweight Title to Saginashvili.

Notable matches

Armwrestling style

Devon Larratt is known as both an extremely versatile and enduring armwrestler. Larratt has one of the sport’s highest table IQs, and can execute any move whether it be a hook, toproll, press, king's move, king's hook, or any variation thereof. Additionally, he is unique for his unusually high levels of endurance, a trait that is most advantageous during supermatches. Oftentimes, he only needs to stop the initial surge of his opponent in order to hold them in a disadvantageous position, tire them as the match progresses, and eventually pin them. While Larratt is relatively less muscular than other heavyweights or super heavyweights, he frequently overcomes this power differential with superior technical skill, arm leverage, and hand control, stopping his opponent and draining them of their strength over time rather than explosively overpowering them.

Personal life

Since 2003, Devon Larratt has been married to Jodi Larratt, an actress and former armwrestler; together, they have three children. Larratt generally eats pancakes while training for super-matches, and these humorous pancake videos have subsequently inspired a comical and entertaining storyline within the arm wrestling community, whereby other armwrestlers discuss and adopt Larratt's "pancake diet". To carry on with this jest, Devon's fans will often mail him maple syrup and pancake mix. Devon is also the owner of Armbet, a mobile matchmaking and betting application for arm wrestling. Larratt currently resides in Ottawa, Canada with his family.

References

External links

• Devon Larratt's YouTube Channel