Brock Lesnar's 7 Most Important Fights in the UFC

Picking his 7 most important UFC fights was easy – he only had 7 fights in the UFC. Don’t mistake brevity for lack of importance. Brock Lesnar will go down as one of the biggest stars the UFC may ever see, possessing attitude, freakish athleticism and a haircut you could set your watch to. Lesnar had unequaled drawing power as his 7 fights sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 million pay-per-view buys.

7. First UFC Victory – Birth of a Star

6. Submission of the Night – Doesn’t Like Getting Hit

5. No Comeback – Beginning of the End

Opponent: Cain Velasquez
Event: UFC 121 [Video]
Date: October 23, 2010
PPV: 1,050,000
Lesnar has missed more than a year because of his first bout with diverticulitis – a word that no one had ever heard of three years ago, but now all MMA bloggers can spell from memory. 8-0. 7 of those wins by knockout. Cain Velasquez was the new breed of UFC heavyweight. He was younger, almost as big, had a similar wrestling pedigree, was twice as fast, and did everything else better. Where Carwin was able to stun Lesnar, Velasquez finished him. We had seen Lesnar upset (Mir I), we had seen him vulnerable (Carwin), and fighting for his life (diverticulitis) but we had certainly never seen him get his ass kicked. Lesnar was able to offer nothing and we wouldn’t find out until his next bout with his disease that he might not have ever been fully recovered.

4. UFC Debut and First Loss

When Brock Lesnar took up mixed martial arts, he told Dana White he wanted to fight in the UFC. White told him to take some smaller fights and get some experience. Lesnar politely told him to screw himself and that he only wanted the biggest stage. There were no tune-up fights for Lesnar. His debut came against former heavyweight champion Frank Mir. This would end up being the fight that put Mir’s entire career back on track. He would go on to fight for titles and take on legends. Lesnar learned that you don’t stand around and let a black belt grab a hold of your leg. The fight lasted all of 90 seconds, but holy shit was it exciting. Lesnar rushed in like a bull, putting Mir on the ground and hammering him. The fight was stopped as Steve Mazzagatti stepped in and took a point from Lesnar for a shot to the back of the head – without warning. I don’t know if we’ve seen anything like that since. Mir would go on to secure a leg lock and hand Lesnar his first defeat. This would set up a grudge match on the biggest stage in UFC history.

3. One Last Try – Beaten Into Retirement

Opponent: Alistair Overeem
Event: UFC 141 [Video]
Date: December 30, 2011
PPV: Estimated around 750,000

The former UFC and Strikeforce heavyweight champions met after Lesnar’s latest illness-related layoff. Like all fighters coming off some sort of injury, Lesnar said that he had never been healthier. He certainly looked monstrous leading up to the fight against the similarly chiseled Overeem. The fight seemed cut-and-dry – Standing it was Overeem’s fight and on the ground, it was Lesnar’s to lose. Turns out it was that simple. Lesnar took one shot at a takedown, and was denied. Overeem perfected what Velasquez and Carwin had done before. After taking some brutal shots to his surgically repaired midsection, Lesnar suffered his second consecutive loss and announced his retirement. So ended one of the shorter and most publicized MMA careers in history.

2. The New Heavyweight Champion – Beating A Legend

Lesnar’s first headlining gig. Randy Couture had retired (for the second time) as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion in August 2007. Bringing back the UFC legend for Lesnar’s first shot at a title was huge. Couture was able to somewhat neutralize Lesnar in the first, despite a 50-pound weight difference. In the second, Lesnar hit Couture behind the ear with one of his meat hooks and dropped the 9-time champion. After just four career fights, Lesnar was the UFC heavyweight champion. He had beaten one of the sport’s original legends.

1. Unifying The Belts And Avenging The Loss

Opponent: Frank Mir
Event: UFC 100 [Video]
Date: July 11, 2009
PPV: 1,600,000

During Randy Couture’s retirement, Frank Mir found himself in possession of the interim heavyweight title. For Lesnar’s first title defense, he would try and unify the belts against the one man who had beaten him. Oh, and they’d also headline UFC 100 – the biggest card in UFC history. Lesnar dominated Mir. Smashing him like he had early in their first fight. When it was over, Lesnar gave Mir the finger, told Joe Rogan he was going to drink Coors Light because UFC sponsor Bud Light wouldn’t pay him and threatened to climb on top of his wife to celebrate. Brock Lesnar became the UFC’s biggest star and the sport’s biggest heel that night.