It’s hard to believe that a man who was once considered the “most dominant athlete in sports” could have such an incredible and improbable journey. But that is exactly the story of Brock Lesnar. This former WWE superstar made the jump to UFC and became one of the most successful fighters in the history of the sport. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at Brock Lesnar’s life and his amazing journey from obscurity to champion fighter!
Brock Lesnar was born in 1977 in South Dakota. He was a large baby, weighing in at over 11 pounds. As a child, Brock was very active and loved wrestling and football. He even won a state championship in high school wrestling. After high school, Brock Lesnar decided to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
He started training for his upcoming professional wrestling career and quickly began making a name for himself in the world of professional wrestling. In 2000, he made his debut with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and became one of the most popular wrestlers in the company. Lesnar quickly rose through the ranks of the WWF, winning the heavyweight championship on two occasions. He set a record in 2002 by becoming the youngest performer (aged 25 at the time) to win the championship. But I am sure you are more interested in his MMA career.
A Monster Enters The UFC
In 2007, Lesnar made the surprising decision to leave professional wrestling and pursue a career in mixed martial arts (MMA). He signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2008.
Right out of the gate, Brock Lesnar made his debut against former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC 81. Lesnar managed to secure an early takedown on the former heavyweight champion; however, he was forced to tap during the middle of the first round when Frank Mir managed to secure a knee bar.
The next opponent to fight Lesnar was supposed to be another heavyweight legend of the sport Mark Coleman; however, Coleman had to withdraw before the fight due to an injury. Therefore Lesnar went on to fight Heath Herring, who Lesnar dominated throughout the fight.
Lesnar vs. Couture
Lesnar went on to fight Randy Couture at UFC 91, who held the heavyweight belt at the time. Lesnar managed to snuff Randy Couture‘s takedown and then proceeded to outstruck him on the feet and finally knocked him down. Not even one year later after joining the UFC, Brock Lesnar has become the Heavyweight champion.
UFC 100: Lesnar vs. Mir
At UFC 100, Lesnar was yet again set to fight Frank Mir, who at the time held the interim heavyweight belt. UFC 100 was quite an interesting event for Brock Lesnar and UFC fans for several reasons. Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar fought a good fight, and while Frank Mir was mostly dominating the UFC champion, Lesnar managed to secure a takedown and land heavy ground and pound on Mir, therefore securing the win by technical knockdown in round two.
Afterward, Lesnar proceeded to flip off the crown, which booed at him. Another controversy happened post-fight while Lesnar decided to badmouth the UFC sponsor Bud Light claiming they won’t pay him. Afterward, after Uncle Dana had a short talk with Lesnar, he apologized at the post-fight conference and promoted Bud Light.
Lesnar vs. Carwin
Brocks’s next fight against Shane Carwin was scrapped due to Brock suffering from mononucleosis and diverticulitis. Brock had undergone surgery and had to take some time off to recover. During that time, Frank Mir has fought Shane Carwin for the Heavyweight interim belt at UFC 111. After the fight, the showboating not-so-humble Lesnar came into the ring, grabbed the microphone, and proclaimed that Shane Carwin was wearing a “make-believe belt,” causing another controversy.
At UFC 116, Lesnar faced off against Shane Carwin. Shane managed to dominate Brock for the whole first round. However, heavyweight fighters aren’t known for their incredible endurance. Therefore Shane came exhausted into the second round, where Brock managed to secure a takedown, threw some ground and pound, and eventually finished the fight off by grabbing Shane into a triangle choke. On July 3d, 2010. Brock Lesnar has become the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion of the world.
Lesnar vs. Velasquez
However, MMA is an unpredictable sport, even for the best of the best. During his next fight against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121, Brock managed to secure a takedown on Cain; however, Cain’s superior stand-up game put Brock away by a technical knockout at the end of the first round.
Lesnar went on to the show The Ultimate Fighter: Season 13 as one of the coaches. The other coach was Junior dos Santos who Brock was set to fight on UFC 131; however, Brock had to pull out of the fight due to the repeated issues with diverticulitis.
Lesnar vs. Overeem
After Brock recovered, he went on to fight Alistar Overeem in UFC 141, who managed to defeat Brock Lesnar with his superior striking, hitting him into the stomach and then the liver. This was supposed to be the last time we would see Brock Lesnar in the octagon.
Brock went on to sign with the WWE in 2015, where he is still active to this day.
Brock Returns To The UFC
One year later, UFC announced that Brock would return for UFC 200, where he won over the heavyweight legend Mark Hunt by taking him down in the first and third rounds while battering him with ground and pound.
However, another controversy was well on its way. As I am sure, you probably know that Brock Lesnar isn’t so big due to eating chicken and rice but rather some other “help.” In July of 2016. Brock was notified that he had failed two USADA anti-doping tests, which overturned his win over Mark Hunt to a no contest. Mark Hunt would later sue the UFC for allowing Brock Lesnar to fight even doe he failed two anti-doping tests prior to the fight.
Later on, Brock tried to once again enter the UFC fighting pool by storming the UFC 226 post-fight interview and taunting Daniel Cormier. However, the fight did not manifest due to Lesnar admitting he was too old to get back into the fighting game again.
In 2011 Brock Lesnar was the highest-paid athlete in MMA according to the ESPN top 30 highest-paid athletes list, topping the list with $5.3 million of earnings.
He remains one of the most popular but not the most liked and successful fighters in the history of the sport.
Conclusion
Brock Lesnar’s story is truly incredible. From his humble beginnings in South Dakota to his days as a professional wrestler to his status as a UFC champion, Lesnar has had an amazing journey. There is no doubt that he is one of the most dominant athletes in sports today. Thanks for reading! Until next time!
