“A Very Rare Thing…” Brock Lesnar’s Former UFC Rival Details Why ‘The Beast’ Was Able to Conquer Him Inside the Octagon in 2008

Brock Lesnar’s UFC career started with a defeat to former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir in 2008. But ‘The Beast’ quickly recovered to win his first bout in the promotion against Heath Herring and then conquered seasoned fighter Randy Couture to win the UFC Heavyweight title in only his third fight. Lesnar’s win over Couture was remarkable as well as surprising, given the fact he was up against an experienced performer.

The impressive size and strength of Brock Lesnar did make him appear as a credible fighter on paper, and he delivered in the octagon as well. That win over Couture helped Lesnar to win over skeptics who doubted that a pro wrestler could ever make a name for himself in MMA. Randy Couture recently talked about his iconic fight with Lesnar at UFC 91  and recalled the experience of going toe-to-toe with ‘The Beast Incarnate.’

Couture thinks he was on his way to win the fight

Many UFC fans would have seen the Lesnar vs Couture bout as a chance for them to laud the superiority of MMA over pro wrestling. Although the former WWE Champion had one UFC win under his belt, a contest against the five-time champion Randy Couture was not an easy task. The crowd was partisan in favor of Couture, with Lesnar’s ears ringing with the chants of “Randy, Randy’. But when the dust settled, Brock Lesnar, a WWE guy, had made history and conquered the world of MMA.

There were moments in the match where The Natural Randy Couture could’ve changed the game, but Lesnar proved to be too strong in the end. In an interview with 2000 Percent Raise, Couture recalled his fight with Lesnar, which the former Royal Rumble winner won via second-round TKO. Couture claims he was on his way to win the fight by making him wrestle him until the tables turned.

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He said, “In that first round, I had him up and he had to grab the fence, probably would have hit the deck, and it might have been a different night from that point.” Couture then mentioned Lesnar’s size combined with his athletic ability made the difference. He continued, “He’s a huge guy and a very athletic guy, an NCAA Champion from Minnesota. At 290 pounds, he’s as athletic as they come, a very rare thing for a guy that size.” 

Couture said Brock Lesnar was a legitimate athlete

In the interview, the UFC Hall of Famer also said that he knew he had to prepare for Lesnar with those who were of a similar size to him. He stated, “That was a big challenge because not a lot of guys his size could move. I could find big bodies, but they weren’t nearly as athletic as he is. Couture also labeled him as a “legitimate athlete” and referenced former WWE Champion CM Punk who couldn’t make the transition that smoothly due to not having a pro wrestling background.

Couture isn’t the only UFC fighter who had to be wary of the threat posed by the “Alpha Male of Our Species”. A few months ago, the man who handed Lesnar his first UFC defeat, Frank Mir, said that he didn’t buy into the notion that he was a pro wrestling guy, due to his amateur wrestling background and called him a “legitimate killer”. While Mir did prevail in their first fight, Lesnar avenged his defeat a year later when he beat Mir via a second-round TKO to retain his UFC Heavyweight Championship.

There is little doubt that Lesnar is one of those once in a lifetime athletes who stand out wherever they go. Although his UFC run came to an abrupt end, Brock Lesnar’s impact in the octagon is still talked about to this day.

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