Joe Pyfer infamously outscored Francis Ngannou for punching power at the UFC PI, before both men’s records were shattered.
The middleweight contender was training for a fight at the world renowned UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas when he took on the Power Kube. Ngannou had set a record which seemed unbeatable at 129,161 units of pounds of force, which is the equivalent to 96 horsepower.
But despite being close to fight weight during camp and Ngannou tipping the scales at over 270lb in his boxing fights with no limit, Pyfer punched through that record. Now, he is set to return at UFC Mexico City against Kelvin Gastelum in a big step up.
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Joe Pyfer scores higher than Francis Ngannou in punch challenge
For years, Francis Ngannou’s record for punching power stood at the Performance Institute with the likes of Tom Aspinall trying and failing to break it. So fans were completely baffled when Joe Pyfer, a middleweight, was alleged to have scored higher.
He shared a video of the feat on the JRE MMA Show, telling Rogan that he had landed 170,000. “I pride myself on my power because I’m trying to hurt you. We all throw with power but I feel like I have a little different intentions sometimes.
“So I’ve always prided myself on hitting hard, always felt I hit harder than anybody. Now I’m sure Francis’ punch feels different than mine but I hit hard, I’m fast and I walk around at 220lb when I’m out of camp.
“I’m not a small guy, I’m 6’2″ and 220lb hitting that, maybe light because I was injured so around 212lb. I hit even higher than that at 181,000, I only have the picture but Brendan Allen’s coach was there.”
Alex Pereira and Eddie Hall have both defeated UFC punch record
Unfortunately for Pyfer and Ngannou, both of their records have been defeated in recent times by Alex Pereira and World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall who isn’t even a fighter. They have scored huge numbers, with many feeling that Pereira is now the heaviest hitter in the world.
In April of last year Pereira broke the hardest punch world record on the UFC’s PowerKube when he hit with an astonishing force of 191,796 units of power. However, just months later strongman Hall smashed that record with a force of 208,901, almost doubling Ngannou’s score.
“Alex Pereira had the record for ages, he had 190,000, and then I came along and smashed it,” Hall said in a YouTube video discussing his power. “So I was quite proud of myself. But then another gentleman brought a cube and put it against a brick wall.
“I hit it as hard as I could, and I got 203 kilos, that was measured in kilos. So, that punch could generate 203 kilos on the pads at one time. I don’t know if I’d quite fancy 203 kilos in one spot on my face just for my like a splat.”