Brock Lesnar

	Name	Brock Lesnar
	Nickname	The Next Big Thing
	Association	Minnesota Martial Arts Academy
	Trainer	Greg Nelson
	Weight Class	Heavyweight (265 lbs.)
	Height	6' 3" (191 cm)
	Reach	81.0 in (206 cm)[3]
	Style	Wrestling
	Birth Date	July 12, 1977
	Fighting Out Of	Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
	Country	USA
	Brock Lesnar Pictures	Official Website

Brock Edward Lesnar is an American mixed martial artist as well as a former professional and amateur wrestler. He is the former UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Before gaining prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Lesnar was an accomplished amateur wrestler winning the 2000 NCAA wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal. In WWE, Lesnar was the 2002 King of the Ring, and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble. He is also a three-time WWE Champion.

After leaving WWE in 2004, 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, where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first wrestling match since leaving the WWE. He was stripped of the title in July 2006, although he held the physical belt until June 2007.

Lesnar started a career in Mixed Martial Arts and had his first fight in June 2007. He then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in October 2007, and captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship from Randy Couture on November 15, 2008.

Professional Record

Record	5 - 3 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw)
Wins	2 (T)KOs 2 Submissions 1 Decisions
Losses	2 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 0 Decisions

Result	Opponent	Method	Event Title	Date	Round	Time	Notes
Loss	Alistair Overeem	TKO (Kick to the Body and Punches)	UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem	12/30/2011	1	2:26	Heavyweight Championship Eliminator
Loss	Cain Velasquez	TKO (Punches)	UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez	10/23/2010	1	4:11	Lost UFC Heavyweight Championship
Win	Shane Carwin	Submission (Arm Triangle Choke)	UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin	7/03/2010	2	2:19	Defended UFC Heavyweight Championship; Unified titles; Won Submission of the Night Honors
Win	Frank Mir	TKO (Punches)	UFC 100	7/11/2009	2	1:48	Defended UFC Heavyweight Championship; Unified titles
Win	Randy Couture	TKO (Punches)	UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar	11/15/2008	2	3:07	Won Defended UFC Heavyweight Championship
Win	Heath Herring	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 87: Seek and Destroy	8/09/2008	3	5:00
Loss	Frank Mir	Submission (Kneebar)	UFC 81: Breaking Point	2/02/2008	1	1:30
Win	Min Soo Kim	Submission (Punches)	K-1 HERO's: Dynamite!! USA	6/02/2007	1	1:09

Early Life

Lesnar attended Webster High School in Webster, South Dakota where he managed to have a 33-0 record in his senior year. 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 also 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 also wrestled at Bismarck State College in Bismarck, North Dakota. Lesnar finished his amateur career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, 1998 NJCAA Heavyweight Champion, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106-5 overall in four years of college.

Wrestling Career

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2002–2004)

In 2000, after ending college, Lesnar signed up with the World Wrestling Federation (later changed to World Wrestling Entertainment in early 2002). Lesnar was sent to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. There, he formed a tag team known as the "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.

Early heel push (2002)

Lesnar debuted on WWF television on the March 18, 2002 episode of WWF Raw, 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 dominated Hardy and won the match by knockout. The next night on Raw, he faced 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 take the win.

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 an angle with Hollywood Hulk Hogan in August 2002 in which Lesnar defeated Hogan, Lesnar began feuding with the Undisputed Champion The Rock. At the main event of SummerSlam, Lesnar defeated The Rock to become the new and final WWE Undisputed Champion. Lesnar, at age 25, was the then-youngest WWE Champion ever (as of 2008, he is still technically the youngest WWE Champion ever, but Randy Orton is the youngest World Champion in WWE history, having won the World Heavyweight Championship at 24). Due to the requirements of the WWE Undisputed Championship being defended on both shows, Raw general manager Eric Bischoff expected Lesnar to be able to return to Raw the next night. In response, SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon announced that Lesnar's contract only required him to defend the title on SmackDown!, forcing Bischoff to create the World Heavyweight Championship for the Raw brand, in turn making the WWE Undisputed Championship lose its "Undisputed" name.

Lesnar's rapid rise to the top of WWE in 2002 led to a match between him and The Undertaker 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 2002 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 when after giving an F-5 to the 500-pounder, he was betrayed by Heyman. This was Lesnar's first painfall loss in WWE, and it turned Lesnar face. 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.

At the 2003 Royal Rumble event, Lesnar defeated The Big Show in a qualification match where the winner could enter the Royal Rumble match. Lesnar later entered the Rumble as the #29 entrant where he eventually won by eliminating The Undertaker.

After winning the Royal Rumble match, Lesnar spent the next two months feuding with WWE champion Kurt Angle, who Lesnar had helped win the title and who also was represented by Paul Heyman. Angle had Heyman, and Team Angle, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, behind him, but Lesnar overcame these opponents. The match between Lesnar and Angle going into WrestleMania XIX proved a historical moment as it marked the first time in WWE history that two accomplished amateur wrestlers met in a ring. Lesnar regained the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XIX. Toward the end of the match, he botched a shooting star press; despite having landed the move successfully several times in OVW, in this match he overestimated the distance he was capable of jumping for the move and under-rotated, slamming his head into 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.

Following WrestleMania, John Cena began targeting Lesnar for almost ending his career (by using the F-5 to propel his leg into a ring post) after a previous match between the two. This led to Cena receiving a title match at Backlash in which Lesnar successfully retained the title. Earlier at the Backlash pay-per-view, Big Show had injured Rey Mysterio badly, resulting in Mysterio being carried out on a stretcher. This led to Lesnar renewing his feud with Big Show, which led to a Stretcher match at Judgment Day for the title. Lesnar successfully retained his title with help from Rey Mysterio and a forklift. A famous SmackDown! moment was made in a later rematch between the two, when Lesnar lifted Big Show over in a Superplex which caused the ring to collapse on impact. At Vengeance, Lesnar lost his title to Kurt Angle in a No Disqualification Triple Threat match that also involved Big Show.

Prior to SummerSlam, Lesnar turned heel on Kurt Angle, leading to a rematch at the event. Lesnar lost to Angle when Angle made Lesnar tap out to the Ankle lock. A second rematch between Lesnar and Angle, an Iron Man match, was later held on an episode of SmackDown!. Lesnar defeated Angle in a match that was said as one of the best in SmackDown! history. Angle slapped on the ankle lock with a few seconds remaining but Lesnar did not tap. Lesnar won with five falls to Angle's four, making him a three-time WWE Champion.

Lesnar's first challenger for his newly won title was 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, making it the second year Lesnar defeated Undertaker to retain the WWE Championship in the main event of No Mercy.

Lesnar realigned himself with Paul Heyman after Heyman became general manager of SmackDown! and formed Team Lesnar with Big Show, Matt Morgan, A-Train, and Nathan Jones for a 10-man Survivor Series match at Survivor Series. 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.

Feud with Goldberg (2003–2004)

The Survivor Series event also 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 with a brief feud involving Hardcore Holly. In this storyline, Holly wanted revenge on Lesnar for legitimately breaking his neck during a previous match between the two in 2002. During that match, Lesnar went for a powerbomb, but Holly, who has gained a reputation of being uncooperative with rookies, supposedly sandbagged mid-lift so that Lesnar could not get him all the way up. Holly compounded the difficulty of the move by not lifting up at the waist. During the struggle, Lesnar ended up dropping Holly on his head, leaving him in need of neck surgery and out of action for a year. At the 2004 Royal Rumble, Lesnar made short work of Holly and quickly defeated him with ease 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. During the match, Goldberg interfered in the match, allowing Guerrero to capitalize and pin Lesnar after a frog splash to win the WWE Championship. The match set up an interbrand match for WrestleMania XX between Lesnar and Goldberg. During the feud with Goldberg, Lesnar also was feuding with Raw's 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 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 both wrestlers with very loud and distinct chants of "na na, hey hey goodbye" and "you sold out," with the crowd support mostly given to special referee Austin. Although Goldberg won the match, both men were given a Stone Cold Stunner by Austin on their way out.

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 upseted 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 statement

"Brock Lesnar has made a personal decision to put his WWE career on hold to prepare to tryout for the National Football League this season. Brock has wrestled his entire professional career in the WWE and we are proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best in his new endeavor."

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 statement

"This is no load of bull; it's no WWE stunt. I am dead serious about this... I ain't afraid of anything, and I ain't afraid of anybody. I've been an underdog in athletics since I was 5. I got zero college offers for wrestling. Now people say I can't play football, that it's a joke. I say I can. I'm as good an athlete as a lot of guys in the NFL, if not better... I've always had to fight for everything. I wasn't the best technician in amateur wrestling. But I was strong, had great conditioning, and a hard head. Nobody could break me. As long as I have that, I don't give a damn what anybody else thinks."

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.

Lawsuit with WWE

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.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2005–2006)

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 Heavyweight Championship until late June 2007. Approximately one year later on June 29, 2007, Lesnar defended his disputed IWGP Heavyweight Championship against TNA World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle in a champion versus champion match. Angle defeated Lesnar with the Ankle lock to win the IWGP Third Belt Championship (which IGF and TNA recognize as the IWGP World Title, and NWA recognizes as the NWA Japan Championship) and challenged him to an MMA fight.

Mixed Martial Arts Career

K-1 Grand Prix (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 Head Assistant 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. In his first official MMA match, Choi Hong-Man was pulled from the match and replaced by Min Soo Kim, who submitted due to strikes in under 1 minute 8 seconds of the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (2008–present)

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 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.[76] 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. 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 on November 15. Lesnar beat Couture via a technical knockout in Round 2, becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Undisputed UFC Champion

On December 27, 2008 at UFC 92, Frank Mir defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Interim Heavyweight title and was expected to face Lesnar for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 98. Immediately after Mir won the Interim Heavyweight title, he turned to Lesnar and said "you've got my belt." Unfortunately, Mir had to pull out of the fight due to a knee injury sustained during training. The fight headlined the July 11, 2009 at UFC 100. Brock Lesnar became the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion after defeating Mir, avenging his first career loss, via TKO (Punches) in the second round.

His post-fight antics at UFC 100 were quite disrespectful and controversial. Lesnar ran around the octagon flipping off the Mandalay Bay Events Center crowd with both middle fingers. He shouted at Mir as the challenger sat on a stool trying to regain his equilibrium. Mir stood up and they went sort of nose-to-broken nose before Lesnar cackled with laughter.

In the post-fight interview, Lesnar encouraged the booing fans to “keep going” before continuing to taunt Mir.

No one and nothing was spared. Lesnar even turned his attention to the UFC itself, which paid him an estimated $3 million for the fight, pointing at the giant Bud Light advertisement in the middle of the octagon.

“I’m drinking a cooler full of Coors Light, Coors Light because Bud Light won’t pay me anything.” Then he even went on to say, “Hell, I might even get on top of my wife tonight.” “Straight WWE,” said a stunned Dana White. “Brock went so far over the top tonight I can’t even describe it. I don’t think in the history of the UFC we’ve ever done anything like that.”

Postfight, White pushed his way into Lesnar’s crowded locker room and took the big guy into the bathroom for a private “discussion.” Lesnar himself described it as “a whip-the-dog session.” “With women in here you don’t want to know what I said,” White said. It worked, Brock showed up at the press conference smiling, supposedly contrite and even drinking a Bud Light.

“First and foremost I want to apologize,” Lesnar said. “I acted very unprofessionally after the fight. I screwed up and I apologize. I apologize to Bud Light. I’m not biased, I drink any beer.” “Man, I was so jacked up. I’m used to selling pay-per-view tickets. I come from a business that is purely the entertainment business,” said Lesnar.

Defending the Title

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, Velasquez was later injured in training, and Lesnar was then scheduled to face Shane Carwin at UFC 106 in November of 2009. A severe illness forced Lesnar off the card in late October 2009. According to reports, Lesnar had not been able to train in over a month due to the illness. The fight was rescheduled for UFC 108, but once again, after needing surgery, the bout has once again been pushed back. (See Section Below for more details)

It was rumored for over a month, but it was officially announced on January 2, 2010 that the UFC would implement an Interim Heavyweight title due to Lesnar not being able to defend his title due to illness. The two fighters that would compete for the belt were Shane Carwin and Frank Mir. It was finally announced on Wednesday morning's addition of ESPN's "SportsCenter," on January 20, 2010 that Lesnar would be returning to action in the Summer of 2010, due to the "miracle" of modern medicine, and would return to face the winner of the Shane Carwin and Frank Mir bout.

Shane Carwin won the fight and in-turn won the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship, and the fight to unify the titles took place on July 3, 2010 at UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin. Lesnar secured an early takedown, but Carwin quickly scrambled to his feet, wobbled the champ with an uppercut, and then smothered him with dozens of additional blows to the head and body. On more than one occasion, referee Josh Rosenthal considered halting the bout, but Lesnar survived and waited out the round while in the clinch against the cage. Although bloodied as he entered the second round, Lesnar scored a quick takedown, moved into half mount, and then improved to full mount. Rather than raining down blows, though, Lesnar moved into side control and secured the eventual fight-ending Arm Triangle Choke, which went on to earn him the Submission of the Night Honors. The ending to Lesnar's stunning comeback came at the 2:19 mark of the second round.

"I just had to weather the storm," Lesnar said. "He's got some heavy shots. ... I knew he was getting tired. Each shot was less dramatic than the other. I thought, 'I'll just let him go.'"

Dana White announced right before the title fight with Carwin, that the next title challenger would be Cain Velasquez.

Illness

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 and claimed 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. On November 4, 2009 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, 2009 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 is also suffering from a serious intestinal disorder called Diverticulitis that will require a surgical procedure.

"We don’t know if he’ll ever fight again," stated Dana White.

It was finally announced on Wednesday morning's addition of ESPN's "SportsCenter," on January 20, 2010 that Lesnar would be returning to action in the Summer of 2010, due to the "miracle" of modern medicine.

The ailment, which Lesnar confirmed was initially diagnosed as mononucleosis and then diverticulitis (or as Lesnar clarified in layman's terms, "a hole in my stomach"), has kept the champion out of action since July 2009.

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 illegal substances. The charges were later dropped when it was discovered the substances were in fact legal sports supplements and were later described by his defense attorney as a "vitamin type of thing."

Lesnar has one daughter, Mya Lynn who was born on April 10, 2002, with his ex-fiancée, Nicole. He left Nicole in 2003 and began a relationship with Rena "Sable" Mero soon after. 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 is expecting their first child together in June 2009.

Lesnar has numerous tattoos, with the most prominent being a stylized skull in the center of his back and a large sword on his chest.

Lesnar makes an appearance in the video game WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, which is named after the quote that WWE commentator Tazz attributed to Lesnar, "here comes the pain." Other video games Lesnar has also appeared in include WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, WWE WrestleMania XIX, WWE Crush Hour, Madden NFL 06,UFC 2009 Undisputed, and the PlayStation 2 version of Wrestle Kingdom.

Lesnar was on the cover of Flex Magazine. Lesnar was also featured in Minneapolis's 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.

Championships and Accomplishments

Amateur Wrestling

• Big Ten Conference
  • 1999 Big Ten Conference Championship
  • 2000 Big Ten Conference Championship
  • Ranked the # 1 Heavyweight in the Big Ten Conference (2000)
• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • 1999 NCAA Division I runner–up
  • 2000 NCAA Division I Championship
• North Dakota State University's annual Bison tournament
  • 1997 Heavyweight Championship
  • 1998 Heavyweight Championship
  • 1999 Heavyweight Championship
• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • 1997 NJCAA All–American
  • 1998 NJCAA All–American
  • 1998 Junior College National Championship

Professional Wrestling

• New Japan Pro Wrestling
  • IWGP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Inoki Genome Federation
  • IWGP Third Belt Championship (1 time)
• Ohio Valley Wrestling
  • OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Shelton Benjamin
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Feud of the Year award in 2003 vs. Kurt Angle
  • PWI Match of the Year award in 2003 vs. Kurt Angle – a 60 minute Iron Man match on SmackDown!, September 16
  • PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year award in 2002
  • PWI Wrestler of the Year award in 2002[
  • PWI ranked him # 1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2003
• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Championship (3 times)
  • King of the Ring (2002)
  • Royal Rumble (2003)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Best Brawler (2003)[105]
  • Best Wrestling Maneuver (2002) F–5
  • Feud of the Year (2003) vs. Kurt Angle
  • Most Improved Wrestler (2002, 2003)

Mixed Martial Arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Best Box Office Draw (2008)
  • MMA Most Valuable Fighter (2008)