SUMMARY
- Joe Pyfer broke Francis Ngannou's record of the strongest punch.
- Many doubted Pyfer's abilities so he had to explain how he came through.
UFC middleweight fighter Joe Pyfer broke Francis Ngannou‘s record of the hardest punch. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ngannou is known for striking the strongest of punches. His hard-hitting punch set the record on a punching machine with a power of 129,161 units. Pyfer shattered that record, as revealed by him, in 2024.
Pyfer appeared on Joe Rogan‘s podcast ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ and the pair discussed about his punch. Before Pyfer appeared on JRE, his teammate Sean Brady also made an appearance. Brady explained how the owner of the machine did not want to credit Pyfer with the record.
Moreover, Pyfer explained how many people refused to believe he had broken the record. However, he showed video proof on the JRE MMA Show #153 to prove the doubters wrong. Pyfer’s record on the punching machine read 170,218 units – 31.7 percent harder than Ngannou’s.
“Francis Ngannou has the world record for the most powerful punch, his punch is the equivalent to 96 horsepower which is equal to getting hit by a Ford Escort going as fast as it can,” UFC CEO White said in January 2018.
“And it’s more powerful than a 12-pound sledgehammer swung full force from overhead. Holy sh*t!”
Ngannou’s record hit was glorified. However, Pyfer’s record hit is going well under the radar. Pyfer even explained that he can punch hard.
Joe Pyfer explained his hard-hitting ability to the doubters on JRE MMA Show #153
When Rogan and Pyfer began their discussion about the American fighter’s punch, Pyfer said, “I don’t know what the confusion is.” According to Rogan, people doubted Pyfer because Ngannou is so “big”. He implied that the doubt is raised because Ngannou is bigger than Pyfer and, therefore, has a stronger punch.
Pyfer explained how his walking weight is around 220 lbs and that he is not that small either. “So this is the thing that people don’t understand though is it’s the same machine. I think everybody thought it was like one of those punching bags… You know it’s aggravating because I pride myself in my power.
I want to hurt you, you know what I mean. Like, that’s my intention I’m trying to. I mean we all throw with power, right? But, I feel like I have a little different intention sometimes… I’ve always felt like I hit harder than everybody. Now, sure, I’m sure Francis’s punch feels different than mine but I got speed I got power and I walk at like 220 when I’m at a camp. So, I’m not a small guy you know I mean I’m 6’2″ 220 [lbs] when I’m hitting that.”
Pyfer holds a strong potential in the UFC middleweight division. He made his debut in September 2022 with a win over Alen Amedovski. ‘Bodybagz’ is set for a strong UFC career.