5 Hardest Punchers in MMA | Easily Explained

by Martial Arts Insider

There is something terrifying about seeing a fighter that has the ability to turn anyone's lights off, at any given time.

In this page, we'll go over who are the hardest punchers in MMA, along with whose lights they have turned off.

hardest puncher in mma

Table of Contents

    1. Francis Ngannou
    2. Anthony Johnson
    3. Derrick Lewis
    4. Dan Henderson
    5. Conor McGregor

    1. Francis Ngannou

    If there was an alien invasion, and there was one person that we could send from earth to fight for us, there's no doubt it would be Francis Ngannou.

    The saying "When he connects they go to sleep" has never rang more true in this case.

    The above video shows some of his brutal knockouts during his rise. However more impressively, he has knocked out top tier contenders recently including Stipe Miocic, Jaire Rozenstruik, Junior Dos Santos, and Cain Velasquez on his way to becoming the UFC champion.

    Ngannou has made a career from knocking out his opponents in brutal fashion.

    In fact, 12 out of his 16 wins are knockouts.

    In 2017, Ngannou actually visited the UFC Performance Institute and created a world record for the hardest punch ever recorded at 129,161 units. You can see for yourself below.

    2. Anthony Johnson

    Another knockout artist, Johnson is know for his 'Touch of Death'.

    17 out of his 23 wins in his career come by the way of knockout.

    He has knocked out Glover Teixeira in 13 seconds, and the only reason it was 13 seconds is because it took him 11 seconds to throw a punch.

    Johnson threw 1 vicious uppercut and knocked Teixeira out cleanly.

    His punches are so strong that Daniel Cormier (who fought at heavyweight for a good chunk of his career) explained that it 'feels like someone hits you with a baseball bat'.

    3. Derrick Lewis

    Lewis is another knockout artist who may be the only other fighter to rival Ngannou's power.

    He loves the classic 'Swang and Bang' style, which just means that he doesn't want to do anything else besides exchange punches.

    This style has been very effective as 20 of his 25 wins come of way of knock out.

    In fact, Lewis holds such formidable power that Ngannou became 'trigger-shy' during his fight against Lewis.

    4. Dan Henderson

    You don't receive the nickname for your hand called the 'H-bomb' for no reason.

    Whether the H stands for 'Hydrogen Bomb' or 'Hendo Bomb' is argued between fans. However what needs no argument is how powerful that right hand is when it lands.

    Henderson owns one of the most vicious knockouts in UFC history vs Michael Bisping. He landed the H-bomb and Bisping went out cold immediately.

    He has landed many of those throughout his career, and they've been devastating each time.

    UFC made a 10 minute H-Bomb chronicles video of Henderson.

    5. Conor McGregor

    McGregor is known for a lot of things, but everyone can agree that his left hand is absolutely lethal.

    In fact, he fought Jose Aldo for the title, who had not lost for 10 years, and he was able to knock him out in one punch in only 13 seconds.

    There have been many victims during McGregor's UFC rise, as he racked up 22 wins, with 19 of them coming by way of knockout.

    He would also go on to win the lightweight belt vs Eddie Alvarez by way of knock out, knocking him down multiple times throughout the fight.

    McGregor has only gone to decision a few times during his career, and they've been to iron chin Nate Diaz, along with iron chin Max Holloway.

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