With his recent return to wrestling confirmed, UFC fans are looking back on some of Brock Lesnar’s greatest moments in the UFC in hopes of a return to the octagon.
The former UFC Heavyweight champion left the wrestling world in 2007 to try his hand at MMA, debuting with an impressive win to kick off an incredible career.
Brock Lesnar became an instant smash hit, becoming one of the UFC’s biggest-ever draws and making millions of dollars throughout his time in the promotion.
He had some of the most exciting fights in the history of the UFC, including a title unification bout that saw him survive a brutal first round to seize victory.
- READ MORE – Brock Lesnar avenged his most devastating UFC loss by squashing former rival in less than two minutes in WWE
5. Brock Lesnar survived the first round to beat Shane Carwin in an incredible bout
Lesnar proved himself as an impressive champion when he defended his belt against the dangerous Shane Carwin at UFC 166.
After missing a significant period of time due to his diverticulitis issues, Lesnar returned to the octagon for a title unification fight against the new interim champion.
Giving it all he had, Carwin laid into Lesnar with some brutal shots in the first round, almost forcing the referee to end the fight.
However, “The Beast” managed to hold on for the five-minute timer to elapse, which effectively decided the fight right there.
Carwin admitted he gave his all in that round, giving Lesnar the chance to easily choke him out in the second round.
4. Frank Mir spoiled Brock Lesnar’s UFC debut with a win over the impressive fighter
Lesnar stepped into the UFC octagon for the first time in 2008, hoping to prove himself against one of the toughest champions in the promotion’s history.
The former WWE Champion took on Frank Mir, a former UFC Heavyweight champion and a man who had faced all the top names in his career and beaten most of them.
Despite coming from a professional wrestling background, Lesnar impressed against Mir and dominated the opening minute of the bout, in a huge shock to the crowd.
However, Mir expertly caught him in a kneebar just 90 seconds into the fight, exposing Lesnar’s inexperience on his UFC debut.
This forced Lesnar to tap out, although he showed glimpses of potential in an impressive MMA bout.
3. In his MMA debut, Brock Lesnar finished Min-Soo Kim in just over a minute
A year before he made his debut in the UFC, Lesnar embarked on his MMA debut for the K-1 promotion.
After his career in wrestling and football had ended, he went back to his fighting roots and used his amateur wrestling background to good use as he lined up against Min-Soo Kim.
Lesnar was initially supposed to face Hongman Choi, the 7-foot-2 “Goliath” who shared the same 4XL glove size as Lesnar, before injury forced him out of the fight.
His replacement was dominated by Lesnar, who took just 69 seconds to earn a TKO victory over the South Korean fighter.
He quickly took him down and embarked on a campaign of destructive punches to the skull, which were so blood-curdling that he tapped out before the referee could stop the fight.
2. Brock Lesnar beat Randy Couture to become UFC Heavyweight champion in just his fourth MMA fight
Lesnar defeated a legend of the octagon to win his first and only title in the UFC when he battled Randy Couture at UFC 91.
After losing to Mir in their first clash, Lesnar picked up a victory over Heath Herring to earn himself a shot at UFC Heavyweight champion Couture in the main event on November 15, 2008.
Less than a year after his UFC debut, the former WWE star put away Couture in the second round, taking him to the ground and laying in some massive punches to earn a ground-and-pound TKO win.
This marked the start of Lesnar as a huge star and a massive draw in the company, although his next fight would be even more impressive.
1. Brock Lesnar defended the UFC Heavyweight title in his rematch against Frank Mir
Lesnar avenged his only UFC loss at that point by beating Mir in the highly anticipated rematch, cementing himself as the undisputed Heavyweight champion of the UFC.
“The Beast” walked into UFC 100 as the champion, following his impressive victory over Couture the following year.
Meanwhile, Mir picked up the interim belt from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, setting up this blockbuster rematch in the main event of the biggest UFC event yet.
Lesnar took Mir down early and battered him on the ground with some massive punches in the first round. The challenger managed to survive to the bell, but the second round proved more of the same.
Halfway through the fight, he managed to sandwich Mir between himself and the cage, the referee having to step in as Lesnar bashed Mir’s head into the cage with his fist, with no protection at all from the incredible assault.