Watch: When Brock Lesnar made his first MMA opponent tap out to punches

WWE superstar Brock Lesnar's Mixed Martial Arts career was a short but eventful affair. MMA was fighting a battle to become mainstream in the 2000's and Brock Lesnar's transition to the sport gave it the first big opportunity to expand globally.

Lesnar made his professional MMA debut in June of 2007 with an exceptionally good performance and made his opponent tap out to punches in the very first round.

Brock Lesnar fought South Korean Judoka and Mixed Martial Artist Min-Soo Kim in the PPV main event of Dynamite!! USA on his debut. Lesnar used his superior wrestling to take his opponent down immediately.

Min-Soo Kim tapped out to Lesnar's vicious ground and pound strikes at the 1:09 mark of the very first round.

Brock Lesnar rose to prominence during his initial run with the WWE in the early 2000's. Following his departure in 2004, Lesnar signed a non-competence agreement with the WWE that prohibited him from competing anywhere in the world until mid-2010.

However, Lesnar filed a lawsuit in 2005 asking the court to rule the non-competence agreement unenforceable. Both parties agreed to settle the lawsuit, which paved the way for Brock Lesnar to pursue a career in MMA.

The Minnesota native announced his transition to the sport while attending the K1 World Grand Prix in 2006. Following which he started training with the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and made his much-awaited debut against Min-Soo Kim with a spectacular performance.

Brock Lesnar is the UFC's first truly global superstar

UFC's struggles with mainstream acceptance brought it on the cusp of closing down in the early 2000's. The organization's foray into television through the reality show The Ultimate Fighter and the rise of future Hall of Famers like Anderson Silva, Chuck Liddell, and Georges St-Pierre gave the UFC a lease of life.

However, none of the UFC stars were mainstream popular figures who could attract masses to the sport of MMA. The UFC signed Brock Lesnar immediately after his professional MMA debut.

Lesnar brought a never-seen-before promotional ability and a worldwide fan base along and made the UFC a truly global phenomenon for the first time since its inception. Four of the UFC's top five highest-selling PPV events before Conor McGregor's arrival were headlined by Brock Lesnar.

In retrospect, Brock Lesnar's MMA career appears to have given him mixed competitive success. However, Lesnar did manage to become the UFC champion and was able to compete with a lot more experienced, life-long Mixed Martial Artists.

The UFC heavyweight title has changed hands more frequently than any other title in UFC history. Brock Lesnar was also one of only four heavyweight champions to defend the title two consecutive times before Stipe Miocic broke the record.