Brock Lesnar MMA record: Looking into the biggest highlights and pitfalls of The Beast Incarnate's storied UFC career

Brock Lesnar is widely regarded as an anomaly in the world of sports. 'The Beast Incarnate' is the only person who's won the UFC heavyweight title, every top title in the WWE, NJPW's prestigious IWGP heavyweight championship, and the NCAA Division I heavyweight title.

After attaining worldwide fame courtesy of his time in the WWE in the early 2000s, Lesnar tried his hand at football and eventually transitioned to MMA. Lesnar made his professional MMA debut with a first-round TKO victory over Min-Soo Kim at Dynamite!! USA in June 2007.

Following that, his very next fight took place in the UFC against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC 81 in February 2008. The WWE veteran lost his UFC debut, as Mir defeated him via first-round submission.

That said, Lesnar surprised many in the combat sports world by beating veteran fighter Heath Herring via unanimous decision in his next fight, which transpired at UFC 87 in August 2008. The dominant win proved to be one of the multiple highlights that followed in Lesnar's UFC career.

He faced MMA legend Randy Couture next for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 91 in November 2008, winning via second-round TKO and capturing the UFC heavyweight title.

Lesnar then faced Mir in a rematch at UFC 100 in July 2009. He defeated Mir via second-round TKO in the UFC heavyweight title unification matchup, avenging his loss as well as defending and unifying the heavyweight belts. Unfortunately, Lesnar dealt with severe health issues in the ensuing months. He suffered from mononucleosis and diverticulitis.

'The Beast Incarnate' underwent surgery for diverticulitis in 2009. He returned to action in a title unification matchup against the then-undefeated Shane Carwin. Lesnar weathered the storm in round one and rallied to beat Carwin via submission in round two of their thrilling fight at UFC 116 in July 2010.

Brock Lesnar successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title twice, notching the record for the highest number of title defenses of the title. The record was later broken by the legendary Stipe Miocic.

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Brock Lesnar's UFC career pitfalls and MMA retirement

Many viewed the back-and-forth Shane Carwin fight as a sign that Brock Lesnar's battle against diverticulitis might have adversely affected the latter and that 'The Beast Incarnate' had physically deteriorated. After his war with Carwin, Lesnar faced the then-unbeaten Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in October 2010 and lost his title via first-round TKO.

Lesnar was struck by diverticulitis again and had surgery yet again in the following months. He returned against MMA great Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 in December 2011 and ended up losing via first-round TKO. Lesnar retired from MMA after the defeat and rejoined the WWE as a part-time performer in 2012.

Furthermore, amid rumors of a possible MMA return in 2015, Brock Lesnar indicated that he was done with MMA. However, he returned to face Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in July 2016. Lesnar won the fight via unanimous decision. Nevertheless, the result was later overturned to an NC (No Contest) as Lesnar failed multiple drug tests for the banned PED clomiphene.

Brock Lesnar continues to enjoy a successful WWE career as a part-time performer to this day. Regardless, his steroid use is often highlighted by many as the biggest pitfall of his overall sports career, and UFC run in particular. 'The Beast Incarnate' notified the UFC of his retirement in 2017 but returned to promote a potential fight against Daniel Cormier in 2018.

The Cormier matchup never materialized. Similarly, there were rumors that Brock Lesnar could face Jon Jones in 2020, but that fight didn't come to fruition either. Moreover, in March 2022, Lesnar -- who holds an MMA record of 5 wins, 3 losses, and 1 NC -- reiterated that he's unlikely to return to the UFC and MMA.