Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12 , 1977 ) is an American professional wrestler , actor , former mixed martial artist , professional football player and amateur wrestler , signed with WWE . He is also a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and an accomplished amateur wrestler , winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999 after losing to Stephen Neal . Lesnar gained prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) from 2002 to 2004 , where he is a former three - time WWE Champion , becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25 with his first reign . Lesnar was the 2002 King of the Ring and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble . After leaving WWE , Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL . He played during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings , but ended up being a late cut . Lesnar returned to professional wrestling at the end of 2005 , and joined New Japan Pro Wrestling ( NJPW ) , where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match . He was officially stripped of the title by NJPW in July 2006 , and took the physical belt with him to Inoki Genome Federation ( IGF ) , where he was still recognized as IWGP Champion until June 2007 . Lesnar started a career in MMA and won his first fight in June 2007 . He then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC ) in October 2007 . He lost his UFC debut against Frank Mir , but defeated Heath Herring in his sophomore fight . He subsequently captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship from Randy Couture on November 15 , 2008 , then avenged his loss to Mir at UFC 100 to become the Undisputed Champion . After being sidelined from fighting in late 2009 due to diverticulitis , Lesnar returned to defeat the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin at UFC 116 . Lesnar lost the Heavyweight belt against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 . He was once again stricken with a bout of diverticulitis in May 2011 and had surgery to try to cope with the ailment . Lesnar returned at UFC 141 in December 2011 , where he lost to Alistair Overeem and promptly retired from the UFC . In April 2012 , Lesnar returned to the less demanding climate of WWE . Early life . Brock Lesnar was born in Webster , South Dakota . He attended Webster High School in Webster , where he had a wrestling record of 33 – 0 – 0 in his senior year . Lesnar admits he graduated last of 54 students in his class . Lesnar later attended the University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship for his junior and senior years of college ; his roommate was fellow professional wrestler Shelton Benjamin who served as Lesnar ' s assistant coach . Lesnar won the 2000 NCAA wrestling championship as a heavyweight after placing second in 1999 . Prior to joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers , Lesnar wrestled at Bismarck State College in Bismarck , North Dakota . Lesnar finished his amateur career as a two - time NJCAA All - America n , 1998 NJCAA Heavyweight Champion , two - time NCAA All - America n , two - time Big Ten Conference Champion , and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106 – 5 overall in four years of college . Professional wrestling career . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment ( 2000 – 2004 ) . Training and debut ( 2000 – 2002 ) . In 2000 , after leaving college , Lesnar signed up with the World Wrestling Federation . He was sent to its developmental territory , Ohio Valley Wrestling . There , he formed a tag team known as " The Minnesota Stretching Crew " with his former college roommate , Shelton Benjamin . Lesnar and Benjamin won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions . He wrestled several dark matches in 2001 and 2002 before being called up to the main roster . Lesnar debuted on WWF television on the March 18 , 2002 episode of " Raw " , the night after WrestleMania X8 , coming through the crowd and attacking Al Snow , Maven , and Spike Dudley during the course of a match . He was accompanied by Paul Heyman , who was seen giving instructions to Lesnar . When the brand extension was introduced in the WWF , Lesnar was drafted to the Raw brand . Later , Heyman was confirmed to be Lesnar ' s agent and gave Lesnar the nickname " The Next Big Thing " . Brock ' s first feud was with the Hardy Boyz . Lesnar and Jeff Hardy squared off at Backlash in Lesnar ' s first official televised match . He won the match by knockout after Hardy was unable to respond to referee Theodore Long . The next night on " Raw " Lesnar faced off against Matt Hardy , defeating him in the same fashion . At Judgment Day , Lesnar once again gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging his partner , Heyman , in to make the pin . Main event status ( 2002 – 2003 ) . In June 2002 , Lesnar won the King of the Ring tournament , defeating Rob Van Dam in the final round . This victory earned him a shot at the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam . On July 22 , Lesnar joined the SmackDown ! brand . After a quick feud with Hollywood Hulk Hogan in August 2002 , Lesnar began feuding with the Undisputed Champion The Rock . Lesnar would go on to face Rob Van Dam at Vengeance , for the Intercontinental Championship . He lost the match by disqualification . At the main event of SummerSlam , Lesnar defeated The Rock , albeit with the use of a steel chair and outside interference from Paul Heyman , to become the WWE Undisputed Champion . With his victory at age 25 , Lesnar became the youngest WWE Champion in history ( a record that was previously held by The Rock and stands to date ) . With the WWE Undisputed Championship being defended on both brands , Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff expected Lesnar to be able to return to " Raw " the following night . However , SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon announced that Lesnar ' s contract only required him to defend the title on " SmackDown ! " , forcing Bischoff to establish a new world championship for his brand . With the new World Heavyweight Championship on the Raw brand , the now disputed WWE Undisputed Championship simply became known as the WWE Championship . Lesnar ' s rapid rise to the top of WWE in 2002 led to a feud with The Undertaker , which involved a match at Unforgiven . It ended in a double disqualification leading to Lesnar retaining the title . The next month , at No Mercy , he faced The Undertaker again , this time in a Hell in a Cell match . Leading up to the match , Lesnar broke the Undertaker ' s hand with a propane tank . Despite Heyman begging McMahon not to let The Undertaker use his cast as a weapon , the request was denied and the match went on as planned . In a match that saw both wrestlers and even Heyman covered in blood , it ended when Lesnar reversed an attempted Tombstone piledriver into his finishing F - 5 maneuver for the win . Six days after his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker , Lesnar successfully retained his WWE title in a Handicap match with Heyman at the Rebellion pay - per - view against Edge . Lesnar ' s next opponent was The Big Show . Heyman was convinced more than anyone that Lesnar could not win , trying to talk him out of defending the title . Lesnar refused and lost the championship in Madison Square Garden at the Survivor Series pay - per - view to Big Show , Lesnar ' s first pinfall loss in WWE . When the champion tried to pin the 500 - pounder following an F - 5 , he was betrayed by Heyman who pulled the referee out of the ring allowing Big Show to capitalize by chokeslamming Lesnar on a steel chair . Show went on to pin Lesnar and win the title . As a result , Lesnar became a fan favorite . Following Survivor Series , Heyman made it clear that Lesnar would not get a rematch , even going so far as to sneak a special clause in his contract . In order to gain his revenge on Big Show and Heyman , Lesnar interfered in his first title defense , which came against Kurt Angle the next month at Armageddon . Lesnar hit the F - 5 on the champion , which enabled Angle to pin him and win the title . On the next edition of " SmackDown " , however , Angle introduced Heyman as his manager and , despite promising Lesnar a match for his title earlier in the evening , declared that Lesnar still would not get a title shot . Lesnar was then beaten down by Big Show and Angle following the main event , but the former champion got his revenge after the show went off the air . While getting attacked again and berated by Heyman , Lesnar recovered and began to fight off both men . He eventually clotheslined Big Show out of the ring and then knocked him out with a steel chair when he returned , leaving Angle alone with Lesnar . Lesnar then chased the champion , who had escaped to the outside , and resumed his assault that culminated when Lesnar used the F - 5 to propel Angle ' s right knee into the steel ringpost . As paramedics tended to a screaming Angle , Lesnar finished off the assault with a kneebreaker on the ringside barricade , ( kayfabe ) breaking the champion ' s leg . With Angle temporarily put out of action , Lesnar ' s rivalry with Heyman and the Big Show resumed , which culminated in a match at the Royal Rumble in January 2003 . A spot in the Royal Rumble match was on the line , and winning the match would be Lesnar ' s only hope for a potential title shot . Lesnar defeated Big Show to gain entry into the match and entered at # 29 , the second to last competitor to enter the match . He eliminated Matt Hardy and Team Angle , which was composed of the debuting ( at the time ) Charlie Haas and his former OVW teammate , Shelton Benjamin who were mentored by the WWE champion . Lesnar made it to the final two , with the only remaining entry being a returning Undertaker who entered the match last . Lesnar went on to win the match by eliminating Undertaker , which now guaranteed him a title match which he would receive at WrestleMania XIX . After the Royal Rumble , Lesnar ' s feud with Angle , Heyman , and their allies continued as Angle retained the title at the Rumble by defeating Chris Benoit . Lesnar and Benoit faced off against Angle , Haas , and Benjamin at No Way Out the following month and Lesnar ' s team won the match . This helped to forward the feud leading into the main event at WrestleMania . During the match , Lesnar attempted and botched a shooting star press , a move typically done by cruiserweights but a move Lesnar knew how to perform , having done so in developmental matches . However , Lesnar overestimated the distance he could jump to execute the move . As a result , he did not get enough rotation on his leap and instead of landing with his body on top of Angle ' s , Lesnar jammed his head and neck by hitting Angle ' s side and ribcage . This stunned Lesnar and forced Angle to improvise the finish of the match . Lesnar suffered a severe concussion from the botched move , but still managed to pin Angle after an F - 5 to win his second WWE Championship . The rivalry ended after this , as Angle was forced to undergo neck surgery and missed several months . After WrestleMania Lesnar turned his attention to John Cena , who had returned from injury in February 2003 and who had been F - 5 ' d into a ringpost in the same manner Angle had been . Cena claimed Lesnar nearly ended his career and even named his new finishing move the " FU " as a jab at the new champion . The feud ended relatively quickly in a match at Backlash when Lesnar defeated Cena . On the following " SmackDown " , Lesnar returned to his rivalry with Big Show after he injured Rey Mysterio badly during their match at Backlash . Show ' s attack resulted in Mysterio being carried out on a stretcher and back board and Big Show took Mysterio off the stretcher and swung the back board into the ringpost , compounding the injury . Lesnar called out the Big Show , who demanded that Lesnar put his title on the line against him . This led to a Stretcher match at Judgment Day for the title . Lesnar successfully retained his title with help from Rey Mysterio and a forklift . During the scripted rivalry , on " SmackDown ! " , Lesnar lifted Big Show over in a Superplex , which caused the ring to collapse on impact . As Lesnar and Big Show continued their rivalry , Kurt Angle returned from his neck surgery and he and Lesnar began to form a more friendly rivalry , as the two were allies yet contenders for the title . At the first ever " SmackDown " brand - exclusive pay - per - view in July , Vengeance , Lesnar took on Angle and Big Show in a No Disqualification Triple Threat match for his title , which ended after Angle hit his Angle Slam on both Big Show and Lesnar , pinning the champion to become WWE Champion for a fourth time . Lesnar continued to chase Angle ' s title , however , despite their friendship . Vince McMahon found his way into the angle , at first berating Lesnar , who had involved himself in McMahon ' s rivalry with Zach Gowen , for losing to Angle . This all turned out to be a huge swerve that came into focus on the August 7 , 2003 " SmackDown " in Kelowna , British Columbia . That night , Lesnar and McMahon were to face each other in a steel cage match with Angle as the special guest referee as per McMahon ' s orders on the previous week ' s program . During the course of the match , Lesnar had passed out due to a staged backstage incident and McMahon was set to pin him but Angle refused to allow McMahon to win that way . As the two men began to argue , Lesnar rose to his feet , revealing the ruse to the crowd , and F - 5 ' d Angle . He then brutally beat Angle in the cage while McMahon watched , and celebrated with the owner of the company afterward , turning heel in the process . At SummerSlam , Lesnar lost to Angle when Angle made Lesnar tap out to the ankle lock . After that , Lesnar began brutalizing smaller wrestlers and attacking his rivals on a more consistent basis . He returned to using the F - 5 to propel his opponents ' legs into the ringpost , as he did to Spanky and Gowen , and interfered in Angle ' s matches on two separate occasion . On September 18 , 2003 , Lesnar received his third shot at Angle in as many months when he faced the champion in a sixty - minute Iron Man match for the title in what went down as one of the greatest matches in the history of " SmackDown " . Lesnar employed an early strategy where he assaulted the champion with a steel chair early in the match , getting himself disqualified to lose the first fall but allowing himself a chance to do a fair amount of damage . Lesnar won the next three falls by hitting Angle with the F - 5 and pinning him , putting Angle ' s own ankle lock on him and forcing him to submit , and then getting Angle counted out after hitting a second F - 5 on the floor . Angle recovered to pin the champion after an Angle Slam , but Lesnar won two additional falls by first leveling him with the championship belt while the referee ' s back was turned and then hitting a superplex from the top . That made it five falls to two in favor of the challenger with the match more than halfway over . In the final ten minutes of the match , Angle moved to within one fall after a pin and a submission with the ankle lock . For the final two minutes of the match , Lesnar tried to dodge Angle by leaving the ring on several occasions . Angle finally caught the champions with 1 : 12 left and hit a series of German suplexes , keeping Lesnar locked up for nearly 45 seconds . Lesnar , however , was able to hold on to the referee and kicked Angle below the belt with : 35 left . However , since Lesnar was still holding the official he was not disqualified , and with nineteen seconds remaining Angle appeared to be out of it . However , Lesnar fell into a trap set by the champion and Angle locked in the ankle lock again . This time , Angle applied a grapevine hold to the lock , wrenching hard on Lesnar ' s ankle for the final fifteen seconds of the bout . However , Lesnar was able to withstand the hold for the remaining time and as a result , by a final count of five falls to four , won the match and his third WWE Championship . With Angle finally out of his hair for the first time in nearly a year , Lesnar returned to feuding with The Undertaker . Lesnar had previously cost Undertaker the title in a match against then - champion Kurt Angle , which granted him a shot at Lesnar ' s title . At No Mercy , Lesnar defeated Undertaker in a Biker Chain match . However , the rivalry came to an end when Undertaker instead chose to focus on McMahon . After Paul Heyman returned to WWE as general manager of " SmackDown " , Lesnar aligned himself with his former manager . Since he had also since been aligning himself with his former rival The Big Show for several weeks after his betrayal of Angle , this brought Lesnar almost full circle from the year prior , where Heyman and Big Show had conspired with each other to rid Lesnar of his title . With Survivor Series coming up , Lesnar decided to challenge Angle to a traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match , with Lesnar picking four additional wrestlers and Angle doing the same . Lesnar chose Big Show as his first pick , with Heyman adding a returning Nathan Jones and a debuting Matt Morgan to bring the team number to four . Angle , in the meantime , chose Chris Benoit and The APA to join his team . However , Faarooq was injured during a match with Lesnar and Big Show and Angle ' s team was forced to not only find a replacement for him , but to fill the fifth spot . Lesnar ' s team picked A - Train to fill that spot for them after he attacked John Cena , who refused to accept an invitation to join Lesnar ' s team . Cena instead joined Angle ' s team , and Angle added Hardcore Holly as the fifth member ; Lesnar had injured Holly the year before and he hadn ' t wrestled since . In the climax of the match , Chris Benoit became the second person to make Lesnar tap out . Lesnar faced Benoit in a singles bout two weeks later for the WWE Championship on " SmackDown ! " , where Lesnar won after Benoit passed out to Lesnar ' s debuting Brock Lock submission hold . He then began a brief feud with Hardcore Holly , defeating him at the Royal Rumble in January 2004 to retain his title . Departure ( 2003 – 2004 ) . The Survivor Series event marked the first time Lesnar met Goldberg from the Raw brand , a man to whom Lesnar had been compared due to their similar physiques and undefeated streaks in wrestling . Lesnar claimed in a backstage interview that he could beat anybody in the world , leading to Goldberg interrupting the interview and introducing himself to Lesnar , shaking hands with him before leaving with a staredown . Lesnar followed this rivalry with a feud involving Hardcore Holly . In the storyline , Holly wanted revenge on Lesnar for legitimately injuring his neck during a previous match between the two in 2002 which left Holly in need of neck surgery and out of action for a year . At the Royal Rumble in 2004 , Lesnar defeated Holly to retain the WWE Championship . Later in the Royal Rumble match , Lesnar attacked Goldberg and delivered an F - 5 , enabling Kurt Angle to eliminate him . In February , Lesnar faced Eddie Guerrero for the title at No Way Out . Goldberg interfered in the match and was able to help Guerrero turn the tide in the match . Lesnar still had his chance to win by nailing an F - 5 onto his title belt that Lesnar brought into the ring , but Guerrero countered with a DDT to drive the champion into the belt . After a frog splash , Guerrero pinned Lesnar to win the WWE Championship . An angry Lesnar then began feuding with Goldberg , blaming him for losing his title , and a match was set up between the two at WrestleMania XX . During the feud with Goldberg , Lesnar was at odds with Stone Cold Steve Austin , who was shown suggesting to Goldberg that he attack Lesnar at No Way Out . When Lesnar attacked Austin on " Raw " and stole his four - wheeler , Austin was inserted as the special guest referee for the Wrestlemania match . Behind the scenes , it was widely known that the match would be Goldberg ' s last in WWE . Only a week before Wrestlemania , however , rumors surfaced that Lesnar , too , was leaving in order to pursue a career in the National Football League . As a result , Lesnar ' s match with Goldberg became a fiasco as the fans at Madison Square Garden jeered and heckled both wrestlers vociferously . Goldberg gained victory after delivering a Jackhammer to Lesnar and both men subsequently received Stone Cold Stunners from Austin . New Japan Pro Wrestling ( 2005 – 2007 ) . On October 8 , 2005 , Lesnar won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a three - way match at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in the Tokyo Dome , which included the then - champion Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono . He won the match by pinning Masahiro Chono after an F - 5 , which he had renamed the Verdict , since WWE owns the trademark on the F - 5 name . After the match , he stated that this name was referring to his lawsuit against WWE . The match was his first pro wrestling match since leaving WWE . Lesnar is one of the few American wrestlers to have held this title . On December 6 , WWE filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Lesnar from continuing to work with NJPW , but the court did not grant it , and thus Lesnar had two non - title victories against Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata . Lesnar successfully defended his championship on January 4 , 2006 , against former champion Shinsuke Nakamura . On January 13 , WWE once again filed an injunction against Lesnar to stop him from defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on March 19 . Evidently this was not enforced ( nor granted ) , as he went on to have a tag team match with Shinsuke Nakamura against Akebono and Riki Chōshū at the Sumo Hall on February 19 , which was won after a Verdict to Chōshū . On March 19 , at the Sumo Hall , Lesnar retained his championship against former Sumo Wrestling Grand Champion Akebono when Lesnar hit him with the championship belt and a DDT . Lesnar went on to successfully defend his title against the winner of the New Japan Cup , Giant Bernard , on May 3 , 2006 , in Fukuoka . This was the first American vs . American title match in NJPW since Vader vs . Stan Hansen in 1990 . On July 15 , 2006 , New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Brock Lesnar had been stripped of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as he would no longer be returning to defend the title due to " visa issues . " A tournament was held on July 16 to determine the new champion , which was won by Hiroshi Tanahashi , the man Lesnar was originally scheduled to face . Lesnar continued to possess the physical IWGP Championship belt until late June 2007 . Approximately one year later on June 29 , 2007 , Lesnar defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship ( IGF promoter Antonio Inoki had stated he still viewed Lesnar as the " proper " IWGP Champion , as he was not defeated for the title ) against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle in a champion versus champion match . Angle defeated Lesnar with the Ankle lock to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as recognized by IGF and TNA . and challenged him to an MMA fight . This was Lesnar ' s last match as a professional wrestler until 2012 when he re - signed with WWE . Lawsuit . Lesnar had previously signed a no - compete clause in order to be released from his contract with WWE , which prohibited him from working for any other sports entertainment or mixed martial arts companies before June 2010 . Lesnar had anticipated leaving wrestling entirely , but his inability to secure a career in professional football led to him challenging this ruling in court . WWE responded by demanding damages as a result of Lesnar allegedly breaching the agreement by appearing at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in 2004 . In July 2005 , the two sides dropped their claims and entered negotiations to renew their relationship . WWE had offered Lesnar a contract , but on August 2 , 2005 , WWE ' s official website reported that Lesnar had withdrawn from any involvement with the company . The lawsuit was then entered into settlement on September 21 , but talks broke down . On January 14 , 2006 , Judge Christopher Droney stated that unless WWE gave him a good argument between then and January 25 , he would rule in favor of Brock Lesnar , giving him a summary judgment . This would have enabled Lesnar to work anywhere he wanted immediately . WWE was later granted a deadline postponement . On April 24 , World Wrestling Entertainment announced on their official website , WWE . com , that both parties had mutually come to a settlement and on June 12 , a federal judge dismissed Lesnar ' s lawsuit against WWE after both parties requested for the case to be dismissed . Return to WWE ( 2012 – present ) . Brock Lesnar returned to WWE on the April 2 , 2012 episode of " Raw " , confronting John Cena and attacking him with an F - 5 . The next week , General Manager John Laurinaitis revealed that he signed Lesnar to bring " legitimacy " and become the " new face of the WWE " before also announcing that Lesnar would face Cena at Extreme Rules , with the Extreme Rules stipulation later added to the match . Ultimately , Lesnar ended up losing the match to Cena . The following night on " Raw " , WWE ' s Chief Operating Officer Triple H refused to give in to Lesnar ' s unreasonable contract demands , resulting in Lesnar attacking Triple H and breaking his arm with a kimura lock . The next week , Paul Heyman made his return as Lesnar ' s legal representative and claimed that Lesnar was quitting WWE . Heyman would later announce a lawsuit against WWE for breach of Lesnar ' s contract . At the No Way Out pay - per - view in June , Triple H challenged Lesnar , who was not present , to a match at SummerSlam , which Lesnar continually refused , until Stephanie McMahon goaded Heyman into accepting on Lesnar ' s behalf on July 23 at " Raw 1000 " . On August 19 at SummerSlam , Lesnar defeated Triple H in a No Disqualifications match via submission after once again breaking his arm with the Kimura lock . The following night on " Raw " , Lesnar would crown himself the new King of Kings and then release a tout in which he revealed that he would be departing , due to his victory of Triple H displaying that he had conquered everything in the WWE . Lesnar returned to " Raw " on January 28 , 2013 , confronting Vince McMahon , who was just seconds away from firing Paul Heyman . Despite Heyman ' s pleas , Lesnar hit McMahon with an F - 5 , effectively breaking McMahon ' s pelvis . The following week , during The Miz ' s " MizTV " talk show , " Raw " Managing Supervisor Vickie Guerrero revealed herself as the one who signed Lesnar to a new contract to impress Vince McMahon . Afterwards , Lesnar came out and attacked The Miz . On the February 25 episode of " Raw " , Lesnar once again attempted to attack McMahon , only to get into a brawl with a returning Triple H which resulted in Lesnar having his head split open and requiring 18 stitches . The following week , Triple H issued a challenge to Lesnar , requesting a rematch with him at WrestleMania 29 , which Lesnar accepted but only after Triple signed a contract and Lesnar named the stipulation . The following week , after Triple H signed the contract and assaulted Heyman , the stipulation was revealed as No Holds Barred with Triple H ' s career on the line . National Football League ( 2004 – 2005 ) . After his final match at WrestleMania XX , Lesnar sidelined his career in WWE to pursue a career in the National Football League . This move upset many in WWE , as the company felt they had invested heavily in Lesnar . World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed Lesnar ' s departure on their official website WWE . com by the following statement : Lesnar later told a Minnesota radio show that he had three wonderful years in WWE , but had grown unhappy and had always wanted to play pro football , adding that he did not want to be 40 years old and wondering if he could have made it in football . In an interview about starting with the NFL , Lesnar made the following statement : Lesnar played for the Minnesota Vikings , where he created controversy in some games by starting minor fights and got heat from the Kansas City Chiefs for a sack on quarterback Damon Huard , which drew a big response from the crowd . Huard was hit hard and had to go to the sidelines and sit out a few plays . After playing in the preseason , Lesnar ended up being a late cut . He declined an invitation to play as a representative of the Vikings in NFL Europa because he wanted to be closer to home with his family . Mixed martial arts . Hero ' s ( 2007 ) . On April 28 , 2006 , Lesnar appeared inside the ring after the final match of K - 1 Hero ' s Las Vegas and announced his intent to join the MMA promotion . He trained with Minnesota Martial Arts Academy under Greg Nelson , and University of Minnesota Assistant Head wrestling coach Marty Morgan . Brock Lesnar announced on August 12 in Las Vegas that he had signed a deal with the K - 1 promotion . His first fight was scheduled for June 2 , 2007 , on the K - 1 Dynamite ! ! USA show against Choi Hong - man of Korea . However , prior to the match , Choi Hong - Man was replaced by Min Soo Kim . Lesnar submitted Min Soo Kim due to strikes in 1 minute 9 seconds of the first round to win his first official MMA match . Ultimate Fighting Championship ( 2008 – 2011 ) . During " UFC 77 " , it was announced that Brock Lesnar had reached a deal to fight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC ) . On February 2 , 2008 , Lesnar made his debut with the promotion in an event titled " UFC 81 : Breaking Point " against former UFC Heavyweight Champion , Frank Mir . Lesnar secured an early takedown , but was deducted a point for hitting Mir on the back of the head . Following another takedown by Lesnar , Mir managed to secure a kneebar and force a submission at 1 : 30 of the first round . Due to the large size of his hands , Lesnar was wearing 4XL gloves for the fight , making him the second man in Nevada ' s combat sports history to wear such gloves after Choi Hong - man . At " UFC 82 " , it was announced that former UFC Heavyweight Champion and UFC Hall of Fame inductee Mark Coleman would fight Lesnar at " UFC 87 : Seek and Destroy " . Coleman was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a training injury , and Lesnar ' s opponent was changed to Heath Herring . In the early seconds of the first round , Lesnar dropped Herring with a straight right . For the rest of the fight , Lesnar kept the fight on the ground and went on to win by unanimous decision . Lesnar ' s next opponent was Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 91 : Couture vs Lesnar on November 15 . Lesnar beat Couture via a technical knockout in Round 2 , becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion . On December 27 , 2008 , at UFC 92 , Frank Mir defeated Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Interim Heavyweight title and was to face Lesnar for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 98 . Immediately after winning the Interim Heavyweight title , Mir found Lesnar in the crowd and shouted at him " You ' ve got " my " belt . " However , due to a knee injury to Mir , the title unification match with Lesnar that was originally slated to be the UFC 98 main event was postponed . The news broke during the broadcast of UFC 96 that the bout had been cancelled and was replaced by Rashad Evans vs . Lyoto Machida for the UFC Light - Heavyweight Championship . " Lesnar won the postponed rematch with Mir at UFC 100 on July 11 , 2009 , via Knockout after dominating his opponent for the duration of the bout . The win earned Lesnar Beatdown of the Year honors from Sherdog for 2009 . It ' s an award he shares with Anderson Silva after his win over Forrest Griffin . During his post - match celebration , Lesnar flipped off the crowd who had been booing him . He made a disparaging comment about the PPV ' s primary sponsor Bud Light , claiming they " won ' t pay me nothin , promoting Coors Light instead . He then stated he might even " get on top of [ his ] wife " after the show . He would later apologize for his actions in his post - fight press conference , where he held a bottle of Bud Light . In January 2009 , Brock Lesnar signed a supplement endorsement deal with Dymatize Nutrition . A CD containing training footage of Lesnar was included with boxes of Dymatize Xpand and Energized Xpand . On July 1 , 2009 , it was reported that the winner of the Shane Carwin vs . Cain Velasquez fight at UFC 104 would face Brock Lesnar in his second title defense on a date yet to be determined ; however , the UFC then reconsidered the contendership bout and Lesnar was scheduled to defend his belt against Shane Carwin at " UFC 106 " on November 21 . On October 26 , 2009 , it was announced that Lesnar had pulled out of the UFC 106 card in which he was set to face Shane Carwin for the UFC Heavyweight Championship due to an illness . UFC President Dana White said that Brock had been ill for three weeks , claiming he had never been this sick in his life and that it would take him a while to recover ; his fight with Carwin was rescheduled for UFC 108 in early 2010 . Lesnar initially sought treatment in Canada , but later told reporters that he had received " Third World treatment " from malfunctioning equipment at a hospital in Brandon , Manitoba , and that seeking better medical treatment in the United States saved his life . Lesnar , who describes himself as a conservative and a supporter of the US Republican Party , went on to criticize Canadian - style health care further and said that he shared his experience in an effort to speak " on the behalf of the doctors in the United States that don ' t want health care reform to happen and neither do I . " On November 4 , it was confirmed that Lesnar was suffering from mononucleosis and that his bout with Carwin would have to wait a bit longer , thus the fight for UFC 108 was cancelled . On November 14 at the UFC 105 post - fight conference , Dana stated , " He ' s not well and he ' s not going to be getting well anytime soon . " and that an interim title match might need to be set up . In addition to mononucleosis , it was revealed that Lesnar was suffering from a serious case of diverticulitis , an intestinal disorder , which would require surgery . After further diagnosis , on November 16 Lesnar underwent surgery to close a perforation in his intestine that had been leaking fecal matter into his abdomen , causing pain , abscess es , and overtaxing his immune system to the point that he contracted mononucleosis . From the level of damage to Lesnar ' s system , the surgeon estimated that the intestinal condition had been ongoing for around a year . In January 2010 , Lesnar announced on ESPN " SportsCenter " that he was scheduled to make a return to the UFC in the summer of 2010 . A match between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin took place on March 27 at UFC 111 to determine the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion , and Brock ' s next opponent . Shane Carwin defeated Frank Mir by KO in the first round , becoming the new Interim Champion . After the fight , Brock came into the ring and stated " It was a good fight , but he ' s wearing a belt that ' s a make believe belt , I ' ve got the real championship belt . " Lesnar faced Shane Carwin at UFC 116 to unify the heavyweight titles . After Carwin knocked him down early in the first round , Lesnar survived a ground and pound attack . Early in the second round , Lesnar was able to take Carwin down , attain a full mount , then move into side - control and finish the fight with an arm triangle choke . With the victory , Lesnar again became the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion , earning his first UFC Submission Of The Night and giving Carwin his first loss . Lesnar ' s next defense was against undefeated top contender Cain Velasquez on October 23 , 2010 , at the Honda Center in Anaheim , California at UFC 121 . Dana White announced via SportsNation that the UFC would be bringing back UFC Primetime to hype up Lesnar vs . Velasquez at UFC 121 . Lesnar was defeated by Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship via TKO in the first round at UFC 121 on October 23 , 2010 . On January 11 , 2011 , it was revealed that Lesnar would be one of the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 , opposite to Junior dos Santos , with the two expected to face each other on June 11 , 2011 at UFC 131 . Lesnar , however , was struck with another bout of diverticulitis and had to withdraw from the bout on May 12 , 2011 . He was replaced by Shane Carwin who lost against dos Santos at UFC 131 . Lesnar underwent surgery on May 27 , 2011 , to help battle his problems with diverticulitis . UFC president Dana White said that Lesnar had a 12 - inch piece of his colon removed . ESPN The Magazine , in its May 2011 issue , did a story listing the highest paid athlete based on base salary and earnings for the most recent calendar year or most recent season in 30 sports . Brock Lesnar topped the list for mixed martial artists at $ 5 . 3 million , which included his reported bout salaries and estimated pay - per - view bonuses . In the summer of 2011 Lesnar announced that he was ready to get back into the Octagon , stating that " I feel like a new man , healthy , strong , I feel like I used to feel . " His return match was scheduled to be at UFC 141 on December 30 in Las Vegas against former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem . Lesnar had to cut weight for the fight in order to meet the 265 lb weight limit and entered the Octagon with a potential title shot at the new champion Junior dos Santos for the match victor . During the match , Overeem targeted his opponent ' s midsection and was able to land several strikes before delivering a powerful kick that dropped Lesnar to his knee and left him prey to a barrage of punches resulting in the referee stopping the fight and declaring Overeem the winner via TKO at 2 : 26 of the first round . After the defeat , Lesnar announced his retirement from mixed martial arts , mentioning his struggles with diverticulitis and saying " tonight was the last time you ' ll see me in the octagon " . UFC President Dana White commented that while he wasn ' t aware of the decision , Lesnar ' s decision to retire was not a surprise to him . Other media . Lesnar makes an appearance in the video game " WWE SmackDown ! Here Comes the Pain " which is named after the quote that former WWE commentator Tazz attributed to Lesnar , " here comes the pain . " Other video games in which Lesnar has appeared include " WWE SmackDown ! Shut Your Mouth " , " WWE WrestleMania XIX " , " WWE Crush Hour " , " WWE Raw 2 " " Madden NFL 06 " , " UFC 2009 Undisputed " , " UFC Undisputed 2010 " , PlayStation 2 version of " Wrestle Kingdom " , " WWE ' 12 " , and " WWE ' 13 " . With the release of " UFC Undisputed 2010 " Lesnar became the first man to appear on the cover of a WWE and UFC video game as he was the cover star on Here Comes the Pain . Lesnar was on the cover of " Flex Magazine " . Lesnar was featured in Minneapolis ' " City Pages " in February 2008 . In February 2008 Lesnar was featured on the cover of " Muscle & Fitness " magazine . WWE Home Video released a DVD in 2003 titled " Brock Lesnar : Here Comes the Pain " . The DVD covered Lesnar ' s career up to 2003 which featured some of his biggest matches . Lesnar owns an MMA clothing line called " DeathClutch " . Personal life . Lesnar grew up on a farm in South Dakota , and later joined the National Guard at the age of seventeen . In January 2001 , Lesnar was arrested for receiving large amounts of what was alleged to be steroids . The charges were later dropped when it was discovered the substances were in fact a legal growth hormone . His lawyer later described the growth hormone as a " vitamin type of thing . " He is known to be very conservative of his private life and avoids discussing it in interviews : On December 15 , 2011 , Lesnar was charged with hunting infractions of a trip to Alberta on November 19 , 2010 . Two charges were dropped during a court appearance in Medicine Hat on December 20 , but Lesnar pleaded guilty to the charge of improper tagging of an animal . He was fined $ 1 , 725 and given a six - month hunting suspension . Lesnar has one daughter , Mya Lynn who was born on April 10 , 2002 , with his ex - fiancée , Nicole . He left Nicole in 2003 in order to begin a relationship with Rena " Sable " Mero who had been recently divorced from Marc Mero . Lesnar and Mero were engaged in 2004 , separated in 2005 , then reconciled later that year and married on May 6 , 2006 . Lesnar has one stepchild with Mero : Mariah , a stepdaughter born to Mero and her late husband , Wayne Richardson . The couple had their first child together , a son named Turk in June 2009 . The couple had their second child , a son named Duke in July 2010 .