EXCLUSIVE | Siyar Bahadurzada: ‘Greg Jackson says that I’m the hardest hitter he has ever worked with’

It’s no secret that UFC welterweight contender Siyar Bahadurzada hits hard. The 13 knockout victories on his record are all the proof of that fact that’s required. If you’re still not convinced of the Afghan-born Dutchman’s punching power, however, just ask legendary JacksonWink MMA coach Greg Jackson for his thoughts on the matter.

Speaking on episode 102 of BJPENN.COM Radio, Siyar Bahadurzada divulged that Greg Jackson has referred to him as the hardest hitter he’s ever worked with.

“When Greg Jackson says that I’m the hardest hitter he has ever worked with, I believe it,” Bahadurzada said. “And I have proved it. When I was a light heavyweight, I was knocking people out. When I was middleweight, I was knocking people out. Now I’m a welterweight, and I’m knocking people out. And its not TKOs. When I hit people… they fall when I graze them.”

Apparently, Greg Jackson isn’t the only coach at the renowned JacksonWink MMA camp to make comments of this kind about Siyar Bahadurzada. Mike Winkeljohn, another staple of the camp’s staff, has said similar things after holding pads for the welterweight.

“Also Coach Winkeljohn,” Bahadurzada said. “Coach Winkeljohn, every time I hit mitts with him, he said God, you excite me so much. You hit so hard, I don’t think anybody could take these punches.”

Needless to say, Siyar Bahadurzada has tremendous faith in his cage-shaking punching power. So much so that he is confident he can beat any of his peers — even when he is at a technical disadvantage. All he needs to do is bite down on his mouthpiece and throw. If he lands, that’s it.

“Everybody is above my level you know,” an honest Bahadurzada said, assessing the technical ability of his rivals in the UFC. “Nowadays everybody is great striker, great ground fighter, but the thing that separates me from them is balls. They have better techniques but I have bigger balls. When they come to fight, I will beat them. I don’t care how good their striking is, my willpower will overcome. Every good technique that they have, I will beat them. I just believe that there is nobody that can stand and bang with me. That’s my belief and I’m holding to it very strongly. Now if they come to fight me they will see what happens to those flashy and beautiful techniques after the first round.”

Where do you rank Siyar Bahadurzada on the list of the UFC’s hardest punchers?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/24/2018.