Francis Ngannou has provided the world with some of the most terrifying knockouts of all time.
The French-Cameroonian giant is the reigning and defending UFC heavyweight champion, and it doesn’t look like anyone is going to take the belt off him anytime soon. The 35-year-old carries freakish punching power. According to UFC president Dana White, the 6ft 4in giant hits as hard as a moving car.
As per talkSPORT, he claimed when introducing the fighter to the stage at UFC 220: “Francis Ngannou has the world record for the most powerful punch. His right-hand strikes at a staggering 96 horsepower, which is equal to getting hit by a Ford Escort going as fast as it can. And it’s more powerful than a 12-pound sledgehammer swung full force from overhead. Holy s**t!”
Ngannou set the record for the hardest punch of all time during his visit to the UFC Performance Institute. The frightening athlete generated a whopping force of 129,161 units.
The Predator vs The Gypsy King
With his power considered, it’s no surprise that Ngannou believes that he can compete in the world of boxing. However, the 249-pound monster isn’t interested in working his way to the top. He seemingly wants the very best in the world, and he wants them now.
On Thursday, Ngannou found himself on the receiving end of a call out from reigning heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury. ‘The Gypsy King’ posted a cryptic poster and asked his fans whether they would like to see the contest – and the answer was a resounding yes.
‘The Predator’ responded to the WBC world titleholder and confirmed that he would be more than interested in the bout after his next fight against Ciryl Gane.
He said: “After I handle business on 22 January, I’ll fight you under any special ruleset you want. In a ring, in an octagon or in a phone booth.”
Fury is a supremely skilled technician. His freakish boxing IQ combined with his sophisticated movement would likely leave Ngannou chasing shadows all night. Not to mention the fact that the Brit has already beaten an arguably even bigger puncher in Deontay Wilder.
But regardless, if the contest did ever occur, the Mancunian would have to keep his eye on the ball. As many a fighter has already found out, one mistake against The Predator, and it’s all over. So let’s take a look at some of the best-ever knockouts by Francis Ngannou to see if Fury would have anything to be worried about.
5) Andrei Arlovski – UFC on Fox 23 – January 2017
The French-Cameroonian was meant to have a difficult night when he set foot in the octagon against a former world champion. But that wasn’t the case.
Although Arlovski was significantly more experience than his foe, he couldn’t make it pay dividends on the night. Ngannou landed a beautiful right hook to take the Belarusian off his feet before finishing him via a nasty ground and pound.
4) Luis Henrique – UFC on Fox 17 – December 2015
Outside of hardcore fanatics, nobody knew who the French-based prospect was when he arrived in the UFC. However, Francis Ngannou was about to make sure that everyone knew his name. It was only his debut in the promotion, but the monstrous puncher showed he could overcome adversity as he rode out a tough opening round.
His opponent began to tire in the second, and Ngannou took full advantage. He landed a perfect left uppercut to knock his opponent out cold. This was his first knockout in the company. But it certainly wasn’t to be his last.
3) Stipe Miocic – UFC 260 – March 2021
At UFC 220, Ngannou was dismantled by then-champion Stipe Miocic. His historic rise through the sport had meant that he was pushed into a title shot before he was ready. But in the rematch, things were different.
Ngannou had grown into the complete fighter. He outboxed the Golden Gloves boxing champion. But more impressively, he defended the Cleveland native’s takedown attempts. Just over two years after his last world championship opportunity, he claimed the belt by finishing Miocic in a destructive fashion.
2) Jairzinho Rozenstruik – UFC 249 – May 2020
Ngannou is often criticised for his lack of fundamental technique. But does it matter if you’re getting the results?
If UFC 249 is anything to go by, the answer is no.
His opponent had a 76-8 kickboxing record, meaning he was the far better schooled of the two men in the cage that night. But it took ‘The Predator’ just 20 seconds to dispose of his skilled opponent.
He windmilled his shots towards his rival’s face. They didn’t look pretty. But they more than did the job.
1) Alastair Overeem – UFC 218 – December 2017
Everybody knew that Francis Ngannou carried power – we’d already seen it in his knockouts. But they didn’t realise how much until his fight against Overeem in 2017. The French-Cameroonian announced himself to the world as he found an absolute thunderbolt of a left hand to put the former K1 Kickboxing world champion to sleep.
This knockout was not only the best of the 35-year-old’s career, but it’s arguably the best finish in UFC history.
Fury would still fancy his chances to outbox the mixed martial artist. But he couldn’t switch off. Not even for a second.
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