UFC heavyweight champion, professional wrestling star, wrestler and American football player, enormous strength and tremendous speed, all this is the American Brock Lesnar. It is difficult to say what is more striking about this athlete: his versatile talents or his fighting spirit, which allows him to overcome any obstacle.
Youth
Brock Edward Lesnar was born on July 12, 1977 in the wilderness of the American prairie. His parents are farmers from South Dakota. The family had four children.
The child grew up on a dairy farm and was physically active from childhood. Already at the age of five, young Lesnar took up wrestling. At school he played American football, free time- did push-ups and pull-ups. Brock was not a big child and often lost to his peers. His wounded pride forced him to exercise more and more.
When Lesnar grew up, he joined the American army, but did not get into combat units due to color blindness, and working on a computer was not the young athlete’s strong point. After failing the test, he was discharged from the military.
Until the age of twenty-three, Lesnar studied at college and at that time began to participate in student competitions. He wrestled and eventually won the NCAA heavyweight belt. Brock had a solid fight record of 106 wins and only six losses.
In one summer, Lesnar managed to gain 15 kilograms muscle mass. He trained on own program: following strength exercises Stretching classes were underway: in addition to strength, Brock also wanted to develop flexibility.
Lesnar worked part-time as a demolition worker at a construction site: he used a sledgehammer to destroy old buildings. The day began with such a warm-up and ended with gym. The money earned by the sledgehammer was used to rent the hall (the athlete cared much less about his own housing, and he lived in the attic).
Brock Lesnar: wrestling and American football
When Brock Lesnar became a wrestling champion and graduated from college, he had a choice in life - American football or wrestling? He was invited by two famous sports organizations - the NFL and WWE. American football was more prestigious, wrestling was more profitable. Therefore, Brock Lesnar accepted the latter offer, although he later admitted that at that time he had not seen even five minutes of professional wrestling.
Since 2000 he has been working in this unusual form sports and show business. Professional wrestling is staged matches, the winners of which are determined in advance in a secret script. But the winner here can only be very strong fighter with acting talents. Brock had it all in spades. Lesnar fought spectacularly: he lifted opponents heavier than himself, jumped on wrestlers from a three-meter height...
Already in 2002, Brock Lesnar won at the age of 25 and became the youngest WWE champion.
Lesnar's early years in wrestling allowed him to earn millions of dollars, but it could cost him his health. The wrestler performed at a frantic pace - at least three shows per different cities within one week. To relieve tension, Lesnar became addicted to drugs. Fortunately, he was able to quickly overcome his addiction and soon decided to retire from professional wrestling. After leaving WWE, he rashly signed a contract with unfavorable terms and experienced great disappointment. The wrestler felt “a sword at his throat.” It was during this time that Lesnar got his famous chest tattoo.
Now the athlete decided to try his luck in American football. This was facilitated by the combination of the athlete’s mass and speed. In 2004, he ran 36 meters in 4 seconds (while Brock Lesnar is 189 centimeters tall and weighs 130 kilograms).
Lesnar has already started football career in the Minnesota Vikings team... but his plans were interrupted by chance. An American athlete was riding a motorcycle and had an accident. The motorcycle broke into three parts, and Brock himself did not even lose consciousness (his physique saved the day). After several months of rehabilitation, he was unable to qualify for the Vikings team, and refused offers to go to Europe (Lesnar did not want to be separated from his family).
This athlete knows how to refuse. While contemplating a return to WWE, he held a business meeting with McMahon, the organization's director. At this meeting, the boss suggested that the wrestler take off his shirt and show his sword tattoo. Lesnar was outraged and refused to cooperate with WWE. He also rejected the offer to play “muscular scoundrels” in films. Lesnar stated that he wants to appear in front of the public only in such a role that he would not be ashamed of himself and his parents.
For some time he competed as a wrestler in Japan, but unexpectedly switched to MMA. The public was skeptical. The American had never practiced martial arts with striking techniques, did not learn to perform painful and choking techniques - it would seem that all the skills that could ensure the success of a mixfighter were missing.
Brock Lesnar: career development in mixed martial arts
Brock Lesnar began preparing for a career in MMA back in 2006. He signed his first contract with the sports organization K-1. The debut took place in the summer of 2007. Already in the first round, Lesnar knocked out his opponent. This spectacular victory attracted attention - his organization, the UFC, was already gaining priority in the world of mixed martial arts.
Brock Lesnar's first opponent in the octagon was Frank Mir, who was already a UFC champion. The match took place on February 2, 2008 as part of the UFC 81 show. Brock Lesnar started the fight aggressively and was very close to winning, but the more experienced Mir was still able to perform a painful hold and win.
The second match under the auspices of the UFC, against Heath Herring, Lesnar confidently won on points. Herring suffered a broken orbital bone and serious vision problems, which prevented the fighter from returning to MMA.
Already next fight became the title: in November 2008, Lesnar managed to knock out the current heavyweight champion, the famous Randy Couture, and take the UFC heavyweight champion belt. Lesnar became the second UFC champion (after the same Randy Couture) to win the title after only four fights in mixed martial arts.
In July 2009, Brock Lesnar again met with old acquaintance Frank Mir. This time Brock was stronger and finished the fight ahead of schedule. It was main fight anniversary show UFC:100, which received record popularity - 1 million 600 thousand paid broadcasts were sold.
A year later, Lesnar made his second title defense and defeated Shane Carwin, a fighter who had never known defeat before.
However, UFC champions rarely retain their belts for long. After all, here, unlike boxing, sports organization, not the fighters and their promoters decide who fights whom. Fights almost always turn out to be competitive, with unpredictable results.
Brock Lesnar's streak of victories was interrupted in the fall of 2010 when he faced the famous Cain Velasquez. At that moment, Velasquez was not considered the favorite. However, Lesnar was knocked down, beaten and lost by technical knockout. The championship belt went to Velasquez. This fight was declared the "knockout of the evening."
At the end of 2011, Lesnar once again entered the Octagon, but was defeated by famous fighter Alistair Overeem, after which he announced his retirement as a mixfighter. The American decided to focus on wrestling again.
Brock Lesnar today
This athlete has achieved success more than once. He knows how to reach heights again and again. The return to wrestling after a long break was triumphant. In 2014, Brock Lesnar became the WWE Heavyweight Champion. Since 2017, he has been the WWE Universal Champion.
Not long ago, Brock announced his return to mixed martial arts. In July 2016, he fought as part of the UFC:200 anniversary evening and defeated New Zealand fighter Mark Hunt on points. However, the result of the match was later canceled: a prohibited substance was found in Brock Lesnar’s blood. The American was disqualified for a year and sentenced to a huge fine. These are not the first problems with doping (back in 2001, Brock was arrested for possession of prohibited substances). Now Lesnar has announced his final retirement from MMA.
Brock is a public figure, but never puts his private life on display. This side of the life of a fighter and wrestler is not very well known. Brock Lesnar lives with his family in a cozy house in the woods in Minnesota. Brock Lesnar's wife is actress, model and female wrestler Rena Mero (now Rena Lesnar). The couple has two sons: Turk and Dick. Interestingly, his wife is ten years older than Brock.
Lesnar's hobby is hunting.
We present to you the fastest victories of a fighter in his entire MMA career! On our website you will find a huge amount of information and statistics from the world of martial arts and mixfight. We present you the fastest wins of Brock Lesnar for his entire career in MMA! On our site you will find a huge amount of information and statistics from the world of martial arts and mixfight.
TOP 5 fastest victories: Alexander Gustafson
We present you the fastest victories UFC fighter throughout his entire MMA career! On our website you will find a huge amount of information and statistics from the world of martial arts and mixfight. We present you the fastest wins of Alexander Gustafsson for his entire career in MMA! On our site you will find a huge amount of information and statistics from the world of martial arts and mixfight.
Former UFC champion Stipe Miocic: “I’m not going to participate in a circus show”
“It was a completely disrespectful shit show, I think it wasn’t UFC anymore. I thought I was going to be interviewed and I was going to ask for a rematch, but when Brock Lesnar came out, I said I'm leaving here - I'm not going to be part of a circus show! How can you give a title chance to a fighter who hasn't fought in two years, is still disqualified, he last Stand was declared invalid due to the fact that he was caught doping? I want a title shot and I deserve it. How long has it been since Lesnar fought? And at the same time he gets a title chance, while I remain left out? It seems that they are ready to do anything just to sell pay-per-view. I cleared the division. I've done more defenses than anyone, and you're telling me I don't deserve a chance to get what's mine back? Kiss my ass if you think I don't deserve it."
UFC President Dana White has announced that Brock Lesnar will be the next opponent of UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in his first defense of the 265-pound division title. There is only one obstacle standing in the way: USADA. Let us remember that after a seven-year layoff, in 2016 Lesnar returned to the octagon for a fight with Mark Hunt, but failed several doping tests, as a result of which the fight was canceled and Lesnar received a one-year suspension. Lesnar exited the USADA testing program without serving his full suspension, which he will have to do to return to the Octagon, as reported by USADA:
“After receiving a statement of intent to compete in the UFC, Brock Lesnar returned to the drug testing program on July 3rd. With six months and three days remaining on his suspension, Lesnar will be able to compete on January 8, 2019, provided he adheres to the Anti-Doping Policy."
Let us remember that Cormier said that he would fight Lesnar only if he was “clean”. Whether Cormier would want to fight before facing Lesnar, jeopardizing the potential success of the fight, remains questionable.
