Media Hardest hitting LW ever?

[campbecc]

He has a lot of knockouts so obviously he hits hard but that has a lot to do with him landing repeated punches and combinations. He doesn't have a lot of one punch knockouts.

 

[Goosemen]

Conor's fans pumped up because he knocked out little FW's and a washed LW at WW via shoulder strikes.

Justin has 19 times more knockouts than Conor at LW.

Conor can't bust a grape at LW.

Let that sink in.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

It's a tricky thing to gauge, I don't think you can really say it's one guy for sure.

There are probably a group that could all be considered as worthy of that title - Stephans, Guillard, Gomi, Gaethje all worthy for sure.

I'd probably say Guillard had the most freakish blend of speed/power which equates to hitting the hardest, but he was by far the least skilled and his entire game depended on physically overwhelming guys while in his athletic prime. So his ability to showcase being the hardest hitter is far lesser than better fighters with deeper games and better chins.

 

[Shotcy]

More Melvin Guillard

 

[Chomsky Honk]

 

[Goosemen]

Guillard is behind Gaethje for me

Similar power in his hands but less powerful kicks. Gaethje is overall the more powerful striker.

 

[Robbocop]

Gomi

 

[Safton]

I'm actually a Justin fan and while I think he's definitely up there, I sometimes feel like he gets a bit overrated when it comes to being a power-puncher. People talk about him like he's the Francis Ngannou of 155 and has this constant touch of death "fuck you" power in his hands. But he doesn't (most of the time). He actually relies heavily on pressure and volume alongside throwing a lot of heat into every shot to batter his opponents before fucking them up. Don't get me wrong, he is absolutely a hard puncher. And of note I think is his ability to generate a lot of power in close spaces or at weird angles (not to mention his ability to carry his power deep into a fight). I think he hits at least somewhat harder on average (i.e. a "punch-per-punch basis") than guys like Dustin, Oliveira, Riddell, Fiziev, etc.

But what I'm saying is that he is not a "one and done" type of striker most of the time -- he is a volume/pressure-striker who just so happens to always throw attempted kill shots and have fairly heavy hands. Remember, he lands more significant strikes per minute than Max Holloway. If I could make an apt comparison for Justin Gaethje's overall striking methodology (not necessarily his "style"), it would actually be Paulo Costa. High-volume, applies tons of pressure, throws everything with majorly bad intentions, definitely a heavy hitter but doesn't generally have the constant "touch of death" despite fans often assuming that he does... plus surprising amounts of cardio to sustain such a style.

I actually feel like in terms of raw, one-punch explosive knockout power when fresh there are maybe one or two current Lightweights that hit ever so slightly harder than Gaethje. Chandler, IMO, is one of them. Maybe not by some tremendous margin, but I think it's there. I fully understand that this is probably a weird stance to take considering we just saw both men fight and Chandler nearly got his block knocked off while Gaethje was able to eat Mike's best shots, albeit getting wobbled at one point.

/hottake

 

[IloveTHIS]

Some people say Guillard?

Completely washed up Gomi vs Completely washed up Melvin

It's hilarious to me you actually think those gifs are at all relevant to topic at hand. Maybe let the adults talk and just observe my man

 

[Glove]

Many great answers here. At one time in the early 2000's period one of the hardest punchers and very quick hands in MMA at any weight class was Norifumi "Kid" Yamamomo.

 

[HavokHarmon]

People also sleep on BJ

But he could more speed and timing, like Conor

No that’s a good pick imo, I remember an interview where Hughes said Penn hit harder than anyone else he fought at ww. I don’t think he had fought Kos yet but still, that’s pretty solid praise for a guy who wasn’t cutting to make 170.

 

[Abundance]

Justin broked Tony

Tony has the greatest chin of all time.

 

[mkt]

Bushido Gomi as good as ANY LW in history imo.

Nope, Penn finished him prime vs. prime. Nick Diaz also finished him, though he was DQ'd for his pot habit. Hellboy and someone else beat him in his early days as well.

 

[JustOnce]

Penn looked like Sean Sherk spamming takedowns against Gomi. That was BEFORE Bushido run as well. Upsets happen.

Nope, Penn finished him prime vs. prime. Nick Diaz also finished him, though he was DQ'd for his pot habit. Hellboy and someone else beat him in his early days as well.

 

[JustOnce]

It's hilarious to me you actually think those gifs are at all relevant to topic at hand. Maybe let the adults talk and just observe my man

 

[JustOnce]

Different kinds of power and not all washed fighters are equally washed. Also not sure what we're supposed to take from a fight between 2 glass cannons when talking about power

Gomi is as washed up as anybody in the history of MMA.

 

[JustOnce]

Gomi has 14 ko/tko's in 52 fights.

Gaethje is 22-3 with 19 knockouts.

Lol at dismissing Gomi power because he was well rounded enough to win in other ways ( ok ok I don’t even believe that shit lol )

Gomi used to win by getting on top. That's why.

Gomi went 13-1-1 in PRIDE(Well that Diaz NC was a bs however) and he had 7 kos 3 subs and 3 decisions. Gomi took both Nick and Nate down for one, though he got subbed both times. People forget Gomi went to ADCC as well.

If you watch his fight against BJ, when he got on top, you will hear commentator saying how he wins his fights, getting on top.

But per punch, Gomi hits way harder than Justin. Justin breaks people, though he can knock people out as well.

 

[Shay Brennan]

I'm going with the highlight, Justin "TNT" Gaethje.

Hardest kicker and puncher at LW ever. One punch KO power, and crippling kicks.

Khabib has fought and taken shots from Dustin, Gaethje, Conor, Barboza, RDA and he said Justin hits the hardest by far and also said Conor punches were slow and weak.

https://www.givemesport.com/1791189...hardesthitting-fighter-he-faced-in-his-career

Speaking on Mike Tyson’s podcast, Nurmagomedov said: “This guy [Justin Gaethje] hit like a truck, you know. Nobody hit me harder than Justin Gaethje. His kick, his punch, his left hook, right hook, right uppercut.

I agree. it's Gaethje by far.

 

[StonedLemur]

Khabibs chin is insane

He ate those clean too, plus he ducked right into one...still fine.

Mental.

 

[Iroh]

Have any of them punched that UFC punching machine?