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“I Was Living With a Dark Cloud”: Brock Lesnar Previously Wanted to “Erase His Stigma” of Being a WWE Superstar After UFC Debut

Published 11/13/2022, 10:30 AM EST

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An athlete’s life might seem plain sailing from the outside. But it might involve a lot of struggles in the background unbeknownst to the fans. As any athlete who has stayed in the spotlight long enough would testify, the journey to the top contains a lot of ups and downs. Brock Lesnar is a well-known name in the combat sports circuit. He has been there and done it all throughout his career.

But his rise to the summit has not always been rosy. The Beast has had to deal with constant setbacks in his quest for greatness.

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Whether it be the motorcycle accident that curtailed his NFL career. Or the serious ailment that forced him to adapt his diet in order to sustain his career. Lesnar has come out of every predicament that life has thrown at him. The WWE legend continues to dominate in his wrestling career to date. However, there was a point in his career when he wanted to shrug off his reputation as a wrestler.

When The Beast was down and out

Lesnar has revealed many aspects of his personal life and career in his 2011 autobiography, Death Clutch. In one such excerpt of the book, he mentioned the chain of thoughts that he went through following his first loss in the UFC to Frank Mir.

He wrote, “I was living with a dark cloud over my head for seventeen months. I had gambled every bit of my reputation as a legitimate athlete, and I was determined to erase the stigma of being a WWE entertainer.”

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“All I had to do was smash Frank Mir into the ground, but I made a rookie mistake and got caught. These things happen in life, but I’m supposed to be better than that. I handed this guy, who will never be half the man I am, a victory he didn’t deserve.

Initial UFC journey of Brock Lesnar

Fresh from his heroic performances in the squared circle, The Conqueror decided to pursue a career in the MMA juggernaut UFC. He had a blockbuster start to his UFC career. As he defeated Min Soo Kim via Technical Knock Out in his first fight. However, Lesnar got a reality check in his next fight as he suffered a defeat at the hand of Frank Mir.

Switching careers from wrestling to MMA isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. While wrestling does involve the risk of injuries, it does, however, involve planned moves and finishes. MMA, on the other hand, is as real as it gets. Lesnar, through his own admittance, was still learning the trade when he was bested by Mir. 

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But The Beast is not the one to take a loss kindly as he bounced back in style. He not only KO’d Frank Mir in their rematch seventeen months later. But also captured the UFC Heavyweight title.

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Brock Lesnar has managed to dominate every arena that he has stepped in during his career. He is a certified legend in the wrestling world. However, as this anecdote from the book describes, he once had to let go of his image as a sports entertainer. In order to succeed in his UFC career. And as his impressive resume states, success has become a habit for Lesnar.

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Written by:

Ritvic Pratap Singh

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Ritvic Pratap Singh is a WWE and AEW writer at EssentiallySports. He has done his graduation from NIFT. Ritvic is very passionate about WWE and pro wrestling as the image of a wrestling ring always filled him with excitement and AJ Styles his favorite WWE superstar.
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Edited by:

Sreeda U M