By the Gods!

Gordon Mitchell is put to the test, fighting with cannibal pygmies (?) in THE GIANT OF METROPOLIS (1961)

This is actually a minor PEPLUM cliché. Ok, maybe not the cannibal part (even though there are other movies with this aspect) but the Hero fighting off a bunch of shorter adversaries. During Ancient Rome, when gladiators were a thing, there were fights with small men fighting each other or one taller target, which the crowds apparently loved.