4 hours Ago By Jordan Ellis
Alistair Overeem has unsurprisingly named Francis Ngannou as the hardest-hitting opponent he’s ever faced. Overeem won multiple world titles in MMA and kickboxing before walking away from his legendary 25-year combat sports career in June 2023. ‘The Demolition Man’ boasts famous wins over Brock Lesnar , Frank Mir, Fabricio Werdum, Sergei Pavlovich, and a bunch of other big-name heavyweights.
During his career, Overeem suffered 15 knockout losses that saw him eat massive shots from Stipe Miocic , Chuck Liddell, Mark Hunt, Vitor Belfort, and many more big punchers. So, his pick for hardest hitter carries a lot of weight in the MMA community. READ MORE: Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira weigh over 500lbs combined as they make PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants main event official Alistair Overeem says no one hit him harder than Francis Ngannou Overeem squared off against Francis Ngannou at UFC 218 in December 2017.
‘The Predator’ delivered one of the best KOs in UFC history when he caught Overeem with a clean uppercut that lifted him in the air before he collapsed to the floor in a heap. In November 2023, Overeem slightly hesitated when asked to name the hardest-hitting opponent he’s faced, but then he remembered his meeting with Ngannou “That is a good question,” Overeem replied when talkSPORT asked him who’s the biggest puncher he fought. “The heaviest puncher ever? Actually, yes.
Francis Ngannou.” In a subsequent appearance on the Jaxxon podcast , ‘The Reem’ explained that it was a tactical mistake that led to him being put to sleep by the Cameroonian KO artist. “I had a game plan, but it was just one mistake,” Overeem said.
“I was gonna attack his base and then made one attack too much. I overcommitted.” Francis Ngannou will test his power on Renan Ferreira in his MMA comeback fight After his brutal stoppage win against Overeem, Ngannou did the same thing to Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
It was enough to earn him a second shot at Miocic, who had outpointed him over five rounds when they fought for the UFC heavyweight title three years earlier. On this occasion, Ngannou folded Miocic in half with a devastating punch to realize his world-champion dream. The 38-year-old hasn’t fought in MMA since outpointing Ciryl Gane to make his first and only heavyweight title defense at UFC 270 in January 2022.
Since then, he’s left the UFC, joined PFL, and made millions in boxing bouts with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, who brutally knocked him out when they fought in March. Almost 1000 days later, Ngannou will return to MMA when he takes on Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. A win will strengthen Ngannou’s claim as MMA’s best heavyweight, but a defeat against the 6ft 8in Brazilian KO merchant will leave one of the sport’s biggest stars contemplating retirement after three successive defeats.
Who is Francis Ngannou? Inside the former UFC heavyweight champion’s journey from poverty to combat sports superstardom.
