There's plenty to explore from the short but eventful MMA career of Brock Lesnar, one of the most popular yet controversial fighters in the UFC.
Along with the likes of Conor McGregor and Chuck Liddell, Brock Lesnar became one of the few mixed martial artists to reach astronomical star levels before the UFC became the flagship promotion it is today.
In doing so, he not only had a huge impact on the sport itself, but also racked up five wins – and a brief reign as UFC heavyweight champion – in nine bouts.
And yet, despite his high-profile clashes against Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem, there is one particularly punishing performance that sticks in the memory of most MMA fans.
After making the move from WWE in 2007, Lesnar earned a one-way ticket to the UFC following his 69-second demolition of Min-Soo Kim.
But of course, the American no longer had the comfort of the familiarity he got from wrestling, a world in which he played the role of an 'Beast Incarnate', often accompanied by his manager – or rather, his sidekick – Paul Hayman.
Instead, Lesnar was forced to learn the many disciplines that go into MMA, and so when he made his UFC debut against Mir, the powerhouse was quickly humbled by his more seasoned opponent, securing a submission win despite being caught by an illegal attack. .
But when he knew he needed a statement performance to catapult himself into a title fight, the WWE legend produced one of his most destructive displays against grizzled veteran Heath Herring.
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Brock Lesnar showed devastating power in the victory over Heath Herring
Lesnar has always been known more for his explosive takedowns, but in this fight he was able to demonstrate an extra string to his bow that had previously gone unnoticed.
First, he came out of the blocks with an uncharacteristic flying knee, but fell embarrassingly short of his mark.
Regardless, Lesnar was still determined to put on a show, and so he followed up his attack with a sharp and accurate right hand, which landed flush on Herring's chin.
In fact, the punch landed with such force that Herring ended up in a backwards roll onto the canvas.
Still, Lesnar refused to let his opponent off the hook and pounced on the bloodied fighter before resuming his brutal assault on the ground.
Herring then somehow made it to the second round, only for Lesnar to continue his brutal ground and pound – holding his opponent against the cage – before securing his first win in the UFC with a dominant 30-26 points victory.
Photo by: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Brock Lesnar's reign as UFC Heavyweight Champion
Shortly after his third MMA appearance, Lesnar claimed the UFC heavyweight title with an emphatic stoppage of legendary fighter Randy Couture.
And this is ultimately how the wrestling star began building a legacy in his new sport.
Sure enough, he was able to keep his trinket on his next two outings, stopping Mir in a much more brutal end to their second meeting before submitting Shane Carwin with an arm triangle.
But then Lesnar's fearsome surge came to an end when he was stopped by Cain Velasquez, which preceded an even more devastating defeat to Overeem.
And while the formidable but limited heavyweight bounced back to victory in his last UFC bout – defeating Mark Hunt – the result was quickly overturned to a no-contest once it emerged that Lesnar had tested positive for Clomiphene.
Since then, after his reputation in combat sports suffered some tarnish, the 47-year-old has left the octagon behind and returned to the WWE ring instead.
But now that he's embroiled in an ongoing legal battle with the sport's former CEO Vince McMahon, it appears Lesnar has opted to take some time off from both MMA and wrestling.
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