5 times Brock Lesnar looked dangerous in MMA

Brock Lesnar is one of the biggest, strongest and scariest athletes across any sport. The freak of nature is a WWE legend who holds several records in the promotion. He is also an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler and the only athlete in history to hold the UFC heavyweight championship and a WWE world title.

What further proves his credentials as one of the most gifted athletes in the world is the fact that he is also a former NFL player. 'The Beast Incarnate' was signed by NFL team Minnesota Vikings for a short period of time in 2004. Brock Lesnar's combination of size, strength and speed is unparalleled in sporting history. Here, we put aside all the other aspects and focus on his reign inside the octagon.

Here's five times Brock Lesnar looked like the most dangerous man in MMA.

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#5. Brock Lesnar quickly beats an Olympian judoka in his MMA debut

Brock Lesnar | Image via Twitter @_MMAMindset

After witnessing the final of the K-1 World Grand Prix in Las Vegas in 2006, Brock Lesnar stated his intent to try his hand at MMA and join K-1's MMA league, Hero's. He began training with the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy under Greg Nelson and wrestling coach Marty Morgan.

Months later, Brock Lesnar signed a deal with K-1 and even got Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Royce Gracie on board with him as a trainer. After confirming the deal with K-1, Lesnar announced his plans for MMA and said:

"I was a takedown artist in wrestling, and I hope to do that again. My goal is to get guys on the ground — that’s what I’m comfortable with — and then beat their heads in!"

Brock Lesnar was initially scheduled to take on Choi Hong-man of South Korea at the Dynamite!! USA show in June 2007. However, Hong-Man was replaced by Olympic silver medalist judoka Min-Soo Kim.

Brock Lesnar dominated Kim from the get-go and announced his arrival in MMA with a TKO win. Looking like a tank ready for battle, Lesnar got an early takedown on the judoka, transitioned to mount, and punched him three times. Before the fans could grasp anything, the judoka submitted to the strikes at the 1:09 mark of round one.

#4. Brock Lesnar beats Randy Couture to become UFC heavyweight champion

Brock Lesnar vs Randy Couture | Image via Twitter @RMCSportCombat

Brock Lesnar shocked the world by defeating one of the most celebrated and successful UFC heavyweight champions of his era, Randy Couture. It took only four fights into his mixed martial arts career for 'The Beast Incarnate' to become UFC heavyweight champion.

Brock Lesnar was the most dangerous man in MMA when he stopped three-time UFC heavyweight title-holder Randy Couture at UFC 91 in less than 10 minutes.

When the fight started, it looked as if Randy Couture was on his way to getting another brilliant win. However, Brock Lesnar, who had a roughly 50-pound weight advantage over the 45-year-old MMA veteran, proved his mettle to the world.

Brock Lesnar took down the defending champion in the first round with a clean double-leg. The defending champion fought smarter, scored reversals and punched cleaner. However, it was only a matter of time before Lesnar got into his groove with hard knees and tooth-shattering strikes.

Early in the second round, Brock Lesnar connected with a short but massive elbow, wobbling Randy Couture. The UFC legend retaliated with a right overhand that cut Lesnar's eye, but the newcomer's relentless power was too much to deal with.

As Couture dropped to the mat after a straight right from Brock Lesnar, referee Mario Yamasaki gave the defending champion a good deal of time to recover. But then came the scary hammer-fists from Lesnar, who forced a stoppage at 3:07 in round two. Couture attributed his loss to Lesnar's size and said:

"I felt good. He (Brock Lesnar) is just a big guy. He caught me with a big shot."

#3. Brock Lesnar avenges his loss against rival Frank Mir

Brock Lesnar v Frank Mir 2 | Image via Twitter @VIPortalINC

Brock Lesnar's first loss in MMA came during his UFC debut against Frank Mir via a first-round submission. After bouncing back with two back-to-back wins and grabbing hold of the UFC heavyweight title, Lesnar faced Frank Mir in a rematch at UFC 100 in 2009.

A lot of bad blood had developed between the two fighters since their first face-off. While the animosity was evident in the build-up to the rematch, Brock Lesnar made his feelings known when he refused to touch gloves with Mir. The fight started with Lesnar throwing some leg kicks Mir's way before taking him down.

Brock Lesnar fell to a kneebar against Frank Mir at UFC 81, so when Mir tried to grab a hold of his leg during the rematch, Lesnar sprawled and transitioned to half-mount. He grabbed Mir's neck and started landing heavy, punishing strikes on his face and body.

All of the first round saw Brock Lesnar damage Mir. 'The Beast Incarnate' started round two with a clean double-leg takedown but then got back up, inviting Mir to a stand up. However, as Mir landed a left-hook and a couple of knees, Lesnar took him down again and pinned him just like he did in round one.

Frank Mir had no way to escape the size and strength of Brock Lesnar, who was hell-bent on delivering pain to his bitter rival. Lesnar eventually trapped Mir's left arm and started caving his face in with power-shots, forcing a stoppage.

He stood up as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, and shouted at the buzzing arena:

"Who is the f***ing man?"

#2. Brock Lesnar overcomes adversity against Shane Carwin

Shane Carwin handed Brock Lesnar one of the biggest tests of his MMA career.

After stuffing two of Lesnar's early takedown attempts, Carwin hurt the defending UFC champion and put him on his back while launching a barrage of strikes. It caused Lesnar to start bleeding with more than three minutes left in round one.

With Carwin gassed out from delivering the beating on Brock Lesnar, it was up to 'The Beast Incarnate' to steer things around in round two. After sizing up his opponent for about a minute, Lesnar stepped in with a left cross and then went for a takedown, this time successfully.

Brock Lesnar pinned Shane Carwin, landed a bunch of strikes on his body from the mount position, and then transitioned to an arm-triangle choke. Carwin seemed resistant at first, but as Lesnar gripped into the choke, he tapped out.

By defeating the interim UFC champion after suffering a vicious beating, Lesnar proved himself once again in MMA. After defending his belt for the second consecutive time, Lesnar told Joe Rogan:

"I just had to weather the storm. He (Carwin) has got some heavy shots. I just had to hang back and I knew he was getting tired. Each shot was getting less dramatic than the other and I thought, 'I'll just let him go.'"

#1. Brock Lesnar shoves Daniel Cormier, calls out the UFC heavyweight division

UFC 226: Brock Lesnar and Daniel Cormier get in a tussle

Daniel Cormier defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 to become UFC heavyweight champion. After the win, Cormier called Brock Lesnar, who was in attendance at the arena, to the octagon.

Brock Lesnar came wearing a smile but, as he neared Cormier, shoved the newly-crowned champ. The interaction between DC and Lesnar initially seemed friendly but went south once 'The Beast' caught everyone off-guard.

Letting his aggression be known to the MMA community, including Daniel Cormier, Brock Lesnar said:

"Let me tell you something. I walked into this building and watched the heavyweight disasters from the beginning. Ngannou the piece of sh*t. Miocic the piece of sh*t. DC, I'm coming for you, motherf***er."

After his monolog, Brock Lesnar pushed the mic into the camera and apparently cracked the lens. He showed no regard for Joe Rogan as well, whose hand he drove into the camera along with the mic.

With this incident, Lesnar reminded everyone why he was once the baddest man in MMA.