The UFC has been home to some of the most devastating and hard-hitting punchers in professional mixed martial arts, with many having displayed complete destruction under the promotional MMA fighting company.
The likes of Derrick Lewis, Tom Aspinall, Mark Hunt, Junior dos Santos, Thiago Santos, and Sergei Pavlovich are just some of the powerful stars that have shown off their strong punching abilities under the UFC banner in recent times.
However, UFC President and CEO, Dana White, who has seen all the top punchers perform in MMA over the years, knows who is the undisputed hardest puncher to ever represent the UFC.
Dana White’s Hardest Puncher in UFC History Revealed
When White was introducing the Cameroonian fighter to the crowd before his first clash with Stipe Miocic eight years ago, he laid out the facts to prove just how devastating the fighter’s punching abilities were.
“Francis is a guy who has the world record for the most powerful punch. His punches are equivalent to 96 horsepower. That’s equal to getting hit by a Ford Escort going as fast as it can,” the UFC boss explained ahead of the heavyweight world title showdown eight years ago.
“And it’s more powerful than a 12-pound sledgehammer from full force overhead. Holy s***,” White added back then.
However, White’s praise for Ngannou’s power did little for the MMA star during UFC 220, as Miocic was able to steer clear of the hard-hitting punches and was able to out-wrestle his opponent over five rounds.
Ngannou lost via unanimous decision, but he did get his revenge on the American three years later at UFC 260, knocking him out with a ferocious left hook inside two rounds to claim the UFC heavyweight championship.
Following the rematch win, Ngannou successfully defended his heavyweight crown against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 a year later, before stepping away from fighting under the UFC banner and pursuing a career in professional boxing.
Francis Ngannou’s Departure From UFC
The former UFC heavyweight star went on to face former boxing heavyweight world champions, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
While Ngannou held his own against Fury, by knocking down the British star in the fifth round and losing controversially on points, he was taught a boxing lesson by Joshua, losing via a thumping knockout inside just two rounds.
Ngannou has since returned to the cage, albeit not with White and the UFC banner. Instead, he has fought in MMA events organised by both the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).
The heavyweight knocked out Renan Ferreira in just a round in the headlining contest at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants in 2024. He then secured another opening knockout win two months ago on the undercard of the MVP MMA: Rousey vs. Carano card, stopping Philipe Lins.
Manchester United have reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign midfielder Andrey Santos, according to David Ornstein.
The Red Devils have been in the market to bolster their midfield options this summer, but missed out on deals to sign their top targets Elliot Anderson and Matheus Fernandes, after they moved to Man City and Tottenham Hotspur for £116m and £85m respectively.
But INEOS have now secured their second midfield signing of the summer after agreeing a fee with Premier League rivals Chelsea for the Brazil international.
Man Utd Agree £50m Deal to Sign Andrey Santos
Santos, who has been described as ‘world-class’, has been a long-term target for INEOS, and a deal has now been struck worth a fixed fee of £48m, plus a further £2m in easily achievable add-ons for the 22-year-old.
Personal terms are already in place, and permission has now been given to the midfielder to undergo a medical before putting pen to paper on a long-term contract at Old Trafford. Chelsea have also secured a 10% sell-on clause as part of the deal.
In what was perhaps the most dramatic game of the 2026 World Cup so far, Argentina came from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2. Such as the drama, football legend Lionel Messi was seen in tears at the full-time whistle.
Egypt took the lead through Yasser Ibrahim as Messi missed a penalty to get his team back level. The side from Africa then saw one goal controversially ruled out before Mostafa Ziko scored to make it 2-0. At this moment, Argentina’s number 10 appeared to spark into life.
Cristian Romero pulled one back, and only four minutes later, Messi had levelled the scores. Enzo Fernandes would complete the remarkable comeback in the 93rd minute. Messi was in tears at the final whistle, later explaining his emotions to the press:
“I felt like I had let the team down at an important moment,” the 39-year-old said on his missed penalty. “But fortunately, fate had something special for me at the end, and I managed to score the equaliser.”
Thierry Henry Drops Verdict on Messi vs Egypt
Just one day prior, Cristiano Ronaldo had exited the pitch also in tears, as Spain beat Portugal to end his World Cup dreams for the final time. For Messi, this was a different kind of emotion, and former Barcelona teammate Thierry Henry provided some interesting insight into the scenes.
Speaking on Fox Sports, the pundit offered up an honest assessment of Messi’s tears. In a clip which has gone viral on numerous outlets, generating thousands of views and comments, he explained:
“First and foremost, he reminded us that he’s human, because he missed some penalties and four out of eight (at all World Cups). And then he reminds us again that he’s not human.
“I mean, I played with him, and with Leo, sometimes do not wake up the beast? That’s what happened, and I’ve seen it in training, closely. You know when you’re in training sometimes, and you know guys when when one of the coaches don’t want to call a foul or the ball was out, and then you score, and then Leo wanted that ball to be out and a foul, and then he goes, ‘The ball went out’, and the coach was like, ‘Stop complaining, because it can happen in the game.’
“Next thing you know, you look at his eyes and he switches, and he goes and get that ball. I was there. I witnessed it [in training at Barcelona]. He scores three goals in a row by scoring straight away, robbing the ball off you, scoring again, robbing the ball off you, scoring again, and he turns. He said, ‘Next time, call of foul’, and we all went. ‘Yeah, next time, call of foul’ because he’s just unstoppable. When he goes into that mood, he’s very difficult to stop.”
Egypt Manager Makes FIFA Messi Accusation After Argentina Defeat
“They want Argentina and Messi to stay in the World Cup for marketing. If they wanted Argentina to win, why invite other teams to participate? This match was clearly rigged, and the whole world witnessed it.
“We were better than Argentina, and football is unfair. We had a clear penalty that the referee didn’t award, and Ziko’s goal at the start of the second half was disallowed, even though it was perfectly legitimate.”
“The Egyptian Football Association cannot remain silent regarding the refereeing decisions witnessed during the match against Argentina as well as the failure to make appropriate use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game.
The statement concluded: “Every player who wears the Egyptian shirt, and every supporter who stands behind the team, deserves fairness, respect, and equal application of the laws of the game.”
Argentina will now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals as they look to continue their trophy defence, having won the World Cup in 2022.
Manchester United are closing in on the signing of Chelsea star Andrey Santos, with club-to-club talks underway, according to the Daily Mail.
The Red Devils are pushing to bolster their midfield options this summer after missing out on Elliot Anderson and Matheus Fernandes to Man City and Tottenham respectively, having refused to match the offers placed by those clubs.
That has left the club looking at alternatives in the transfer market to strengthen Michael Carrick’s squad, and they have gone back to a long-term target to see if they can get a deal done to bring him to Old Trafford.
Man Utd In Talks to Sign Andrey Santos
According to Mike Keegan, Man Utd are edging towards a £50m agreement with Chelsea for Brazil star Andrey Santos.
Santos, who has been described as ‘world-class’, is open to leaving Stamford Bridge this summer in search of more regular first-team football, having found himself behind Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Romeo Lavia in the pecking order last season.
Chelsea are open to allowing him to leave as a result of that, and want £50m for him. They will not stand in the way of him move to Man Utd should they agree a fee, despite the two clubs being direct rivals in the Premier League.
Talks between the clubs are underway and ongoing, and it’s believed that a transfer is edging closer to being completed.
Man Utd have already signed Ederson from Atalanta for £38m subject to a medical, and Santos would be the second arrival of the summer if he were to join. The club are still pursuing a deal for Real Madrid superstar Aurelien Tchouameni too, as they look to replace Casemiro and cover for Manuel Ugarte, who suffered a serious knee injury at the World Cup for Uruguay.
Fees correct prior to summer 2026
All 10 found — excellent!
Santos a Long-Term Man Utd Target
Santos may seem like a bit of a panic signing on the face of it after United missed out on a host of other targets, but anyone who has been paying attention will know that isn’t the case.
United have been keen on the Brazil youngster for a while now, and even held talks with his agent back in February to find out more about his situation. They also asked Chelsea about his availability during talks over a deal for Alejandro Garnacho last summer.
It’s clearly a deal that the Red Devils are keen on which has presented itself as an opportunity, and United are now ready to pull the trigger to get it done.
