10 Deadliest Punchers In MMA Today

These are the men who could knock out a brick wall with a single strike.

Daniel Cormier, left, punches Jon Jones during their light heavyweight title mixed martial arts bout at UFC 182, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
John Locher/AP

A devastating knockout is the most definitive end to any bout. The solid thud of an opponent crashing to the canvas can be both awe inspiring and fear inducing in fans and fighters alike. Whilst some martial artists prefer to use fancy kicks, anaconda-like submissions, and crushing elbows to incapacitate their opponents, there are those who pride themselves on their remarkable punching power above all else.

Unlike in boxing, where they wear sixteen ounce gloves, mixed martial artists often find themselves fighting with more compact four ounce gloves. This minimal padding allows for harder punches with much more vicious results, generally ending with someone's lights out. The sheer force a professional fighter delivers by throwing bones at another human can be absolutely, and is quite literally mind boggling.

Some of these mighty modern day warriors are capable of knocking out anyone who has ever walked the face of this floating aqua-rock we call Earth with a single well placed punch, often times sacrificing technique and proper defense by leaving themselves fully vulnerable to a counterstrike, in favor of brutal punches with the full force and weight of their bodies behind them. The best defense may indeed be a good offense.

These are the terrifying men who absolutely no one wants to get hit by - not even once.

10. Thiago 'Sledgehammer' Santos

When your nickname is 'Sledgehammer' people expect you to smash and obliterate your opponents. Fortunately for Santos, he has some of the heaviest hands in the sport, with 13 of his 15 knockouts coming by way of fists. The light heavyweight from Brazil holds black belts in both Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as well as a high rank in the dancing martial art Capoeira.

Generally using his flashy and powerful kicking to force opponents to retreat before blasting them backwards and to the canvas with lethal hammer fists, he is a master of ground and pound. Knocking two hundred plus pound men several feet through the air with a single blow is a common occurrence in all of Santos' fights.

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