One of the biggest stars the UFC has ever seen, Brock Lesnar has retired from competitive MMA competition, albeit with a record of just 5-3-0-1. His short but sweet stay in the UFC allowed him to be a legitimate PPV star, make a number of huge headlines and not only pick up but also defend the prestigious UFC heavyweight title.
We take a look back at his four UFC wins and rank them.
Ranking Brock Lesnar’s UFC Wins
UFC 87 – Heath Herring via Unanimous Decision
After making his UFC debut at UFC 81 and being submitted in just 1:30, Lesnar, Dana White and the UFC were staring down the barrel of a big mistake. If a guy they invested heavily in loses his first two fights in emphatic fashion, the experiment will have been a failure and Lesnar would have been sent back to the WWE in embarrassing fashion.
Again featuring in the co-main event, Lesnar took on Heath Herring, a man with a 2-2 UFC record. He was fresh off a split decision victory over Chiek Kongo in March and ready to deflate the Lesnar bubble.
Lesnar opened up with a flying knee/kick, missing by a huge margin. With that being said, we quickly saw his power. Just eight seconds into the bout, he landed a huge right hand, knocking his opponent to the ground. Charging at Herring, Lesnar all but balled him over and found himself holding onto a front headlock position with his back against the fence.
Throughout the entire fight, we saw the future champion’s wrestling ability. His sheer size made it difficult for Herring to regain position after losing it. He outlanded his opponent 96-41, secured five takedowns and won the fight 30-26 on all scorecards. It was important for Lesnar to pick this one up, even if it was over 15 minutes.
UFC 116 – Shane Carwin via Round 2 Submission
This one is arguably one of Lesnar’s poorest performances, however, due to the calibre of the opponent, it sees itself higher than the UFC 87 win. Shane Carwin was 12-0 at the time, with 12 finishes. There was legitimate danger for Lesnar in this one. Carwin was fresh off four UFC knockouts.
Defending his belt, Lesnar was riding a lot of confidence. That confidence was disrupted massively during the first exchange, where it appeared that not only did Carwin make Lensar feel his power, but also was able to get straight back to his feet when Lesnar momentarily got him down.
Carwin knocked Lesnar down, the first time that this had happened during his career. Being outlanded 61-17 in the first round, it would appear that we were going to be getting a new heavyweight champion. Lesnar was cut, tired and seemingly moments from being finished at multiple times throughout the first round.
A wry wink from Carwin and a smile from Lesnar moments before the second round got the fans going massively. A touch of gloves began the second round and it took the two big men almost a minute to engage. When they did, Lesnar immediately shot for the takedown, landed it and got to work. Several body shots led to Lesnar securing the head and arm position and a slick (slick for a 265lbs man anyway) move to the choke side eventually got the finish. There’s little denying that the finish could have come sooner if the champion knew what he was doing, however, the fact remains, he got the win.
On this day in 2010, Brock Lesnar rallied to submit Shane Carwin at UFC 116 🔥 #UFC116 #MMA pic.twitter.com/xrhJF0mKpw
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) July 4, 2023
UFC 91 – Randy Couture via Round 2 TKO
Fresh off just a singular UFC win, it was Lesnar’s opportunity to compete for the UFC heavyweight title. Having just knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga, Couture was enjoying a good run of form.
Many believed that the 24-fight MMA veteran would use his experience to navigate his way to victory. It wasn’t to be, however.
Round one began with Lesnar being able to utilise his much superior size to avoid the wrestling attacks of Couture in the clinch. The two exchanged some crazy wrestling transitions, which on the whole, the challenger got the better of. He landed brutal ground and pound and more than likely secured the first round.
The second round saw Lesnar explode out the gates, hurting the champion with a big elbow which really marked the beginning of the end. Lesnar was able to defend the wrestling again and after creating some distance between the two men, he landed a quick one-two, dropping Couture and following up with brutal ground and pound shots to finish things off.
A well-rounded performance from Lesnar, showing a well-rounded skill set. It is worth noting, however, the sheer size difference between the two men. Lesnar weighed in at the 265lbs limit, with Couture just 220lbs.
UFC 100 – Frank Mir via Round 2 TKO
Headlining the biggest-ever UFC event (at the time), Lesnar vs. Mir 2 was set to be epic. Mir defeated Lesnar on the latter’s UFC debut in just 1:30 via kneebar. Mir went on to win the interim heavyweight title and the undisputed belt was on the line at UFC 100.
Describing the fight as domination is an understatement. Round one began with Lesnar opening up with leg kicks to find his range. After a brief exchange, Lesnar took the fight to the ground, utilising his superior size and strength to nullify Mir’s game and land heavy shots.
Fatigued and bloodied (and on the end of a 53-0 strike differential), Mir made it to the second round.
The beginning of the second round began with Mir clearly on the offensive, walking Lesnar down with combinations, although very little landed on The Beast Incarnate. A flying knee attempt from Mir saw him (inevitably) land flat on his back with Lesnar falling straight into his guard. Locking one of Mir’s arms (in the latter named Dagastani handcuff position), Lensar rained down powerful shots upon Mir, leading to referee Herb Dean stopping the action.
🗓 #OnThisDay in 2009 at UFC 100 – Brock Lesnar unleashed the 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧 inside the Octagon 😤
[ via @UFConThisDay ] pic.twitter.com/V49R9vH7q4
— UFC (@ufc) July 11, 2021
Complete dominance and without a doubt the best performance of his career. He showed a clear improvement after being dominated in his first fight with Mir.
How will Lesnar’s career be remembered? Short and sweet but certainly entertaining.
