Francis Ngannou was one of the UFC’s most prolific knockout artists. Of his 17 pro-MMA wins, 12 have been by way of knockout, including 7 before the two-minute mark of the very first round. This impressive record has earned Ngannou the title of the most devastating puncher in MMA.
In 2018, Ngannou proved that the title wasn’t just mythical. The Predator went to the UFC Performance Institute to measure his punching power using the PowerKube measuring machine. Francis was measured using two punches – his bread and butter overhead right hand and an off-balance uppercut.
The overhand right measured at 129,161 units, breaking the previous record of 114,000 unit set by kickboxer Tyrone Spong. Meanwhile, Ngannou’s uppercut clocked at 122,000 units on the PowerKube and still broke Spong’s previous mark.
PowerKube also quantified the speed of Ngannou’s punches at 51.064 ft lbs/sec. That is equivalent to 92.84 HP which is like getting run over by a Ford Escort car going at full speed. That number is also more powerful than getting hit with a 12-pound sledgehammer full force from over the head. Francis’ punching power is also powerful enough to lift a 240-pound man off his feet.
2017 World’s Strongest man competition winner Eddie Hall attempted to break Ngannou’s PowerKube record in 2021. However, Hall’s best punch could only measure at 113,999 units, way short of Ngannou’s mark.
Shortly before his fight with Joshua, Ngannou also tested his punching power against another punch measuring machine, this time from Gym Shark. Even without a load up, Ngannou’s right hand punch measured at the maximum value of 999 on the machine.
With this kind of punching power, it’s no surprise why Ngannou was able to score a knockdown against Tyson Fury when they fought last year. Unfortunately, that knockdown wasn’t enough to win the fight on the judges scorecards. Still, Ngnanou proved that he is one of the world’s hardest punchers.