Top 10 biggest punchers in UFC heavyweight history: Francis Ngannou stars alongside fighter with freakish power and a record holder

10. Lavar Johnson 18-10 (17 KO)

Johnson is a fighter new MMA fans may not be familiar with, but the American brawler is one of the most prolific knockout artists in the history of the sport.

With 17 KOs from his 18 wins, Johnson was a scary fighter. ‘Big’ kicked off his UFC career with back-to-back first-round stoppage victories against Joey Beltran and Pat Barry.

Unfortunately, his ground game was poor, and it was exposed as soon as Dana White stepped up his level of opposition, so we never got to see him bang with the best.

Still, he is fondly remembered for his freakish KO power.

9. Sergei Pavlovich 18-3 (15 KO)

Pavlovich’s incredible run of KO’s is still fresh in the memory for most.

The stoic Russian heavyweight won six consecutive fights in the first round to set up an interim title bout with Aspinall, who put him out cold in 69 seconds at UFC 295 last November.

Pavlovich didn’t look the same in his comeback fight against Alexander Volkov, but his run was epic and included big wins over top heavyweights Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa, and Curtis Blaydes.

Johnson’s lack of ground game meant he never got the show off his true striking abilityGetty

Pavlovich was the UFC heavyweight division’s boogeymanGetty

He’ll be a threat to Jon Jones as long as he remains on the UFC roster.

8. Tom Aspinall 15-3 (12 KO)

Aspinall is a multi-talented heavyweight who can finish fights on the ground as well as the feet – but his opponents are struggling to deal with his power.

The interim heavyweight champion has never been to the third round as he’s finished all of his victories. 12 have been by KO and the other three men tapped out.

Aspinall has been stopping his UFC opponents so quickly that he’s actually set a record as his average fight time of two minutes and two seconds is the shortest in company history.

The Englishman is already widely regarded as the best heavyweight in MMA, and he’ll now wait for a chance to prove it in a unification bout with Jones.

Aspinall makes it look easy against the best fightersGetty

7. Roy Nelson 24-20 (16 KO)

Nelson was never an elite-level fighter, but he could bang with the best.

‘Big Country’ was shorter than most heavyweights and had a belly that may have made him look like an easy touch to anyone who wasn’t aware of his history.

Nelson won The Ultimate Fighter and earned his contract in the UFC by scoring one of the scariest KOs of all time against Brendan Schaub in 2009.

Mirko Cro Cop, Stefan Struve, Cheick Kongo and many more fighters suffered the same fate as the American became a fan favourite known for his scary power and granite chin.

Nelson was known for his monstrous overhand right

6. Mark Hunt 13-14-1

Hunt certainly has the ugliest record on this list but that’s only because he was fighting the very best from the moment he debuted in MMA 20 years ago.

Like Nelson, ‘The Super Somaon’ struggled when matched against championship-level fighters, although most of the time he’d KO anyone who wasn’t world-class.

Frank Mir, Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, Lewis and Nelson are just some of the victims of his famous walk-off KO, which he became notorious for during his stint in the UFC.

The 50-year-old proved he can still bang when he transitioned to boxing and knocked out 9-0 prospect Sonny Bill Williams as a massive underdog in 2022.

Hunt hit his opponents with one shot then walked offGetty – Contributor

5. Shane Carwin 12-2 (8 KO)

Carwin was a wrestler who found out he packed a punch after entering MMA where he made his debut opponent tap out with strikes.

The UFC icon charged through the regional scene and some of the best heavyweights on the planet to amass a 12-0 record made up entirely of first-round finishes.

Carwin was given a world championship shot against Brock Lesnar, who he mercilessly beat from pillar to post for the first five minutes of their clash in 2010.

Amazingly, Lesnar survived the onslaught, which many people still think should’ve resulted in a TKO, before scoring a submission win in the second stanza.

Carwin was outpointed by Junior dos Santos in his next fight before retiring from MMA and fading into obscurity.

Carwin came closer than most to winning UFC goldGetty

4. Stipe Miocic 20-4 (15 KO)

Miocic is often called the greatest heavyweight in UFC history and he’s earned that type of praise by knocking out some of the best fighters ever.

Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Daniel Cormier, Hunt, and dos Santos are just some of the people who couldn’t take his power punches.

15 foes have fallen to KO losses against Miocic so far, but he’s still got the chance to claim one more famous victim before his MMA career is over.

Miocic will look to become the first man to truly beat Jones when they square off for heavyweight gold at UFC 309 in November.

Miocic’s punching power was the basis of his massive successGetty

3. Junior dos Santos: 23-10 (16 KO)

Dos Santos boasts a record full of big wins over even bigger names.

The former UFC heavyweight champion became the first man to beat Velasquez when he KO’d him in just over a minute in 2011.

Werdum, Mir, Hunt, Tuivasa and Lewis are just some of the other fighters he’s punched to pieces in the Octagon.

Dos Santos is years removed from his prime, but he recently proved he can still whack by stopping Alan Belcher in a bare-knuckle MMA title fight.

Dos Santos only made one title defence – but he remained a top contender for yearsGETTY

2. Derrick Lewis 28-12 (23 KO)

Lewis is statistically the biggest puncher ever, regardless of weight.

‘The Black Beast’ has scored an incredible 15 KO/TKO wins in the UFC and holds the company record ahead of recently retired welterweight veteran Matt Brown, who trialled him by two.

Lewis is known for leaving his opponents out cold on the canvas.

It appears he’ll be doing his thing in the UFC for at least a few more years.

Lewis continues to prove why he’s the UFC’s KO record holderGetty

1. Francis Ngannou 17-3 (12 KO)

Ngannou hits harder than any UFC heavyweight in history.

It was a relatively short run in MMA’s top promotion, but Ngannou delivered several KOs that will be recognised among the best for years to come.

Jairzinho Rozenstruik got his head bounced off the cage, Overeem got punched into oblivion and Miocic was folded in half like a cheap deck chair by ‘The Predator’.

Ngannou even dropped world champion boxer Tyson Fury when he transitioned to the squared circle – he’s definitely the biggest puncher the UFC has ever seen.

Ngannou’s UFC run was truly terrifyingGetty Images – Getty