5 former UFC heavyweight champions who made the move into pro-wrestling

#2. Josh Barnett – Won the UFC heavyweight title in 2002

Josh Barnett's pro-wrestling influence was always visible during his UFC tenure

Styling himself as a ‘catch wrestler’ rather than a Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist or amateur wrestler, it should hardly come as a surprise that former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett was a regular dabbler in the world of pro-wrestling.

‘The Warmaster’ won the UFC heavyweight title in 2002 after defeating longtime champion Randy Couture. Although he was stripped of the title soon thereafter following a positive drug test, he remained one of MMA’s top heavyweights for years after.

Barnett fought in PRIDE, K-1 and Strikeforce and eventually returned to the UFC in 2013. He also regularly competed in the pro-wrestling ring at the same time.

Like Mark Coleman, the majority of Barnett’s pro-wrestling career came in Japan. He worked for promotions such as New Japan and Inoki Genome Federation. He wrestled matches with the likes of Yuji Nagata and Bob Sapp. In 2017, he even joined Impact Wrestling for a short stint.

Barnett’s love for pro-wrestling was easy to see during his MMA career. He would regularly cut wrestling-inspired promos before and after his fights. He even lifted his throat-slash gesture from wrestlers such as Chris Benoit and The Undertaker.

‘The Warmaster’ has not fought in MMA since his 2016 win over Andrei Arlovski, but he remains involved in pro-wrestling and even helped to promote a GCW show in 2020.

#1. Brock Lesnar – Won the UFC heavyweight title in 2008

Brock Lesnar dominated in both the UFC and in WWE

Unsurprisingly, the most famous example of a former UFC heavyweight champion who moved into the world of pro-wrestling remains Brock Lesnar. Of course, that’s probably because Lesnar was well-established as a pro-wrestling star before he entered the world of MMA.

Things could’ve been very different, however, had the UFC been the juggernaut it is today in the early 2000’s. Lesnar, who won the NCAA Division I title in 2000, probably could’ve dominated the UFC at that stage using only his wrestling skills. However, with MMA being seen somewhat as an underground sport at the time, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ instead made his way to WWE.

Receiving an unheard-of push at the time, Lesnar quickly rocketed up the card following his debut in 2002 and won the WWE title just four months after his first appearance. However, despite quickly being established as one of WWE’s biggest stars, Lesnar decided the pro-wrestling life wasn’t for him and quit the promotion in 2004.

Four years later, he arrived in the UFC with a bang, and almost as quickly as he’d done in WWE, he shot up the rankings and claimed the UFC heavyweight title by knocking out Randy Couture.

Lesnar then became the UFC’s biggest star, fighting the likes of Frank Mir, Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez. However, after losing his title and suffering from bouts of diverticulitis, he chose to retire following a 2011 loss to Alistair Overeem.

In the years that followed, Lesnar returned to WWE and has experienced immense success, winning the WWE title on multiple occasions and becoming arguably the biggest star in pro-wrestling all over again.

Multiple UFC champions have tried their hand at pro-wrestling, but the truth is that only Brock Lesnar has been able to dominate in both worlds.