Joe Pyfer famously achieved a higher punching power score than Francis Ngannou at the UFC PI, although both records have since been surpassed.
The middleweight fighter was training at the renowned UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas before a fight when he tested his power on the Power Kube. Previously, Francis Ngannou held the record with 129,161 units of pounds of force, equivalent to 96 horsepower, a mark considered almost unbeatable.
Despite being near his fighting weight during training camp, while Ngannou weighs over 270lb in boxing matches, Pyfer exceeded that record. Now, Pyfer is preparing to face Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Mexico City in a significant career step.
Joe Pyfer Outscores Francis Ngannou in Punch Challenge
For years, Francis Ngannou`s punching power record at the Performance Institute remained unchallenged, with fighters like Tom Aspinall attempting but failing to break it. Therefore, fans were surprised when it was reported that Joe Pyfer, a middleweight, had scored even higher.
Pyfer mentioned on the JRE MMA Show with Rogan that he reached 170,000. He stated, “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 Break UFC Punch Record
Unfortunately for both Pyfer and Ngannou, their records have since been broken by Alex Pereira and Eddie Hall, a World’s Strongest Man competitor who is not a professional fighter. They achieved even greater scores, leading many to believe Pereira is now the hardest hitter globally.
In April of last year, Pereira broke the world record on the UFC’s PowerKube with an astonishing force of 191,796 units of power. However, just months later, strongman Hall surpassed that record with a force of 208,901, nearly doubling Ngannou’s original 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 liking.”
Benedict Kingsley