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The UFC is absolutely filled with knockout artists. The likes of Francis Ngannou, Ciryl Gane and Kamaru Usman all strike fear into their opponents thanks to their punching power. However, the promotion also has plenty of other heavy-handed fighters on its roster.
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While all UFC fans know of the punching power of fighters like Ngannou, many other power punches are currently flying under the radar despite being just as dangerous.
With hundreds of fighters currently on the UFC’s roster, it’s natural that not all of them will garner the same kind of attention as the promotion’s bigger names.
Here, then, are five power punchers that UFC fans are currently sleeping on.
#5. Tom Aspinall – UFC heavyweight
Whether UFC fans are still sleeping on Tom Aspinall after he finished Sergey Spivak inside a round this weekend is a fair question.
However, it’s probably safe to say that this British heavyweight doesn’t have the same kind of hype as, say, Francis Ngannou or Derrick Lewis when it comes to his punching power. And in a lot of ways, that’s pretty crazy.
Aspinall debuted in the UFC in 2020 and already has four stoppages inside the octagon to his name. And despite coming into the UFC with a reputation as a grappler, three of those four stoppages have come via strikes.
The Liverpool native doesn’t appear to be a concussive puncher in the same way that Ngannou is, in that he rarely throws outright haymakers. But that clearly doesn’t make him any less dangerous.
Aspinall instead prefers to use smooth technique in his strikes. He'll often attack his opponents with elbows, knees and short punches from relatively close range. His knockout of Spivak, for instance, came after he hit the Moldovan with a knee to the chest and a savage elbow to the side of the head.
Add in the fact that nine of his 11 MMA wins have come via strikes and it’s clear that this heavyweight has a serious killer instinct, as well as brutal power.
#4. Johnny Walker – UFC light heavyweight
Back in 2019, Johnny Walker was a name on the lips of every UFC fan as a potential challenger to then-UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones. However, since then his hype train has slowed down considerably.
Is this really fair, though? The Brazilian was largely derailed by back-to-back losses to Corey Anderson and Nikita Krylov. But since then, he’s recovered with a vicious knockout of fellow 205-pound contender Ryan Spann.
More to the point, Walker is still one of the most dangerous and unorthodox power punchers in the UFC today. After all, the proof is in his ridiculous record.
Walker has 18 MMA wins to his name, with five losses in the other direction. Incredibly, 15 of them have come via KO or TKO. This explosive Brazilian has shown that he’s more than capable of stepping up in competition, too.
Since arriving in the UFC in 2018, he’s taken out four opponents, and none of them have gone the distance. That includes fellow knockout artists Khalil Rountree Jr. and Misha Cirkunov.
Of course, Walker isn’t just a concussive puncher. He carries just as much power in his knees, elbows and kicks. And if he can beat former UFC title challenger Thiago Santos in October, it’s doubtful that anyone will be sleeping on him anymore.
#3. Magomed Ankalaev – UFC light heavyweight
Johnny Walker isn’t the only overlooked power puncher in the UFC light heavyweight division. Perhaps the most dangerous fighter point blank at 205 pounds is still flying under the radar despite a string of impressive wins. His name? Magomed Ankalaev.
A native of Dagestan, Ankalaev entered the UFC in 2018 and held a reputation as a stellar grappler at the time. Many UFC fans expected him to follow in the footsteps of other Dagestani grapplers such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
However, in the years that have followed, Ankalaev has become much better known for his brutal punching power than his submission skills. He’s picked up a total of six wins in the octagon, four of which have come by KO or TKO.
And while he’s more than happy to use his grappling inside the octagon, his punching power was somewhat overlooked even prior to his UFC career. He picked up knockout wins over UFC veterans Wagner Prado and Maxim Grishin on the regional scene.
Ankalaev’s most recent knockout came over Ion Cutelaba, and it was a brutal one. The Dagestani landed a huge haymaker that instantly turned out the Moldovan’s lights.
Right now, he’s on a six-fight winning streak. If he can use his heavy hands to take out Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 267, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll remain under the radar.
#2. Adrian Yanez – UFC bantamweight
The UFC bantamweight division is chock full of talent right now. That means it’s only natural for a number of excellent fighters to be flying under the radar.
One power puncher who ought to be receiving far more attention than he currently is is prospect Adrian Yanez. The Texas native debuted in the UFC less than a year ago following a win on Dana White’s Contender Series.
Incredibly, Yanez already has three wins inside the octagon to his name, all three of which were knockouts.
His first was arguably the most impressive. It was a violent head kick KO of Victor Rodriguez inside the first round. The two that have followed were equally brutal.
Interestingly, Yanez has also shown that his punching power carries into the later rounds, and remains even after he’s eaten a lot of punishment from his opponent. He demonstrated that in his win over Randy Costa in July.
Right now, Yanez hasn’t got his next fight booked, but he has called out veteran contender Raphael Assuncao for a fight.
If he can beat Assuncao, particularly if he can knock him out, then he’ll almost definitely ascend the ladder at bantamweight. He'll ensure he’s on the radar of the fans, too.
#1. Justin Gaethje – UFC lightweight
On the surface, it seems inconceivable that UFC fans could possibly sleep on Justin Gaethje. After all, ‘The Highlight’ has headlined multiple UFC shows and even held the interim UFC lightweight title last year.
However, since his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in their eventual title unification bout, Gaethje has not fought in the octagon. And in that time, it feels like he’s become the forgotten man of the UFC lightweight division.
New champion Charles Oliveira is widely recognized as the top fighter in the division these days. Meanwhile, all of the hype around Dustin Poirier after his knockouts of Conor McGregor has made him the division’s biggest star.
And other fighters such as Islam Makhachev, Beneil Dariush and Michael Chandler are getting their fair share of attention right now too. Makhachev has often been labeled as the ‘new Khabib’.
That’s left Gaethje as the division’s odd man out, which is crazy. Not only is he arguably the second best lightweight in the world right now, but he’s also probably the biggest power puncher in the division, too.
Nobody at 155 pounds hits quite as hard as ‘The Highlight’. Just ask his victims, who include Edson Barboza, Tony Ferguson and Donald Cerrone.
Unfortunately, until Gaethje returns to action again, which will be against Chandler at UFC 268 in November, it seems likely that fans will somehow continue to sleep on him, at least for now.
