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Francis Ngannou is the current undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, having won the title from Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in back in March of 2021.
He has subsequently defended the title against Ciryl Gane in January of this year, but hasn’t fought since due to an injury.
He is currently recovering from said knee injury and could be in line for a fight with Jon Jones upon his return, with Bones looking to step up to the heavyweight division after dominating the light heavyweight scene for the majority of his career.
Ngannou has an impressive mixed martial arts record of 17-3, with 12 of those victories coming by way of knockout.
The Predator is known for his hard hitting in the Octagon, and according to the UFC Performance Institute, he is the hardest hitting puncher in the entire world. In 2017, they ran tests on Ngannou and he recorded a punch of 129,161 units, something that UFC head Dana White described as more powerful than a “12lb sledgehammer swung full force from overhead.”
Ouch!
From the look of this video which was recorded in 2019, two years after the tests, Ngannou had lost none of that trademark power.
The young brother @francis_ngannou has some serious power ? Who thinks they can hit harder than the uncrowned champ? #tysonchallenge pic.twitter.com/K38SwdswHh
He was out with friends and took on the challenge of the Mike Tyson punch machine, recording a score of over 800 and looked to be enjoying himself as he did.
Aside from the potential clash with Jon Jones in the Octagon, the fight that Ngannou really wants is a lucrative crossover bout with Tyson Fury in the boxing ring.
The Brit has once again emphasised that his retirement is a permanent state of affairs and has relinquished his Ring Magazine heavyweight belt.
Ngannou, however, inspired by the likes of Conor McGregor moving from MMA to boxing for his clash with Floyd Mayweather and the riches this brought, will hope that he and his team can convince Fury to backtrack on this retirement promises.
For the moment, though, Ngannou’s focus is on rehabbing from his knee surgery in March, which is likely to rule him out for the remainder of 2022, whilst his team look to get his next fight lined up.
When he does finally return, either in the Octagon or in the boxing ring, the fight will be a big draw.
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