Brock Edward Lesnar (pronounced /ˈlɛznər/; born July 12, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist, actor and a former professional and amateur wrestler.He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and is ranked the #2 Heavyweight in the world by Sherdog Lesnar is an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to 1999 world freestyle wrestling champion and future New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal.He then gained prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a three-time WWE Champion, becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25 with his first reign. Lesnar was also the 2002 King of the Ring and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble. 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 match. 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 won his first fight in June 2007. He then signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in October 2007. He lost his UFC debut against Frank Mir. He captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship from Randy Couture on November 15, 2008, then avenged his loss to Mir at UFC 100 to become the Undisputed Champion. After being sidelined from fighting in late 2009 due to diverticulitis, Lesnar returned to defeat the Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin at UFC 116. Lesnar lost the Heavyweight belt against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. He was once again stricken with a bout of diverticulitis in May 2011 and had surgery to try and cope with the ailment* 1 Early life * 2 Professional wrestling career o 2.1 World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2002–2004) + 2.1.1 Training and debut (2000–2002) + 2.1.2 Main event status (2002–2003) + 2.1.3 Feuding with Goldberg and departure (2003–2004) o 2.2 New Japan Pro Wrestling (2005–2006) + 2.2.1 Lawsuit * 3 National Football League (2004–2005) * 4 Mixed martial arts o 4.1 Hero's (2007) o 4.2 Ultimate Fighting Championship (2008–present) + 4.2.1 Illness + 4.2.2 Return + 4.2.3 Losing the title + 4.2.4 Coaching on The Ultimate Fighter + 4.2.5 Highest Paid MMA Athlete * 5 Personal life * 6 Mixed martial arts record * 7 In wrestling * 8 Championships and accomplishments o 8.1 Collegiate wrestling o 8.2 Mixed martial arts o 8.3 Professional wrestling * 9 See also * 10 References * 11 External linksBrock Lesnar was born in Webster, South Dakota. He attended Webster High School in Webster, where he had a wrestling record of 33–0–0 in his senior year Lesnar admits he graduated last of 54 students in his class.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 coachLesnar 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 collegeProfessional wrestling careerBrock LesnarRing name(s) The Next Big ThingBrock LesnarBilled from Minneapolis, MinnesotaTrained by Ohio Valley WrestlingDebut October 2000Retired 2006In 2000, after leaving college, Lesnar signed up with the World Wrestling Federation. He was sent to its developmental territory. Ohio Valley Wrestling. There, he formed a tag team known as "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 rosterLesnar debuted on WWF television on the March 18, 2002 episode of Raw, the night after WrestleMania X8, 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 LesnarWhen 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 ThingBrock's first feud was with the Hardy Boyz. Lesnar and Jeff Hardy squared off at Backlash in Lesnar's first official televised match He won the match by knockoutThe next night on Raw Lesnar faced off against 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 make the pin.Brock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock LesnarBrock Lesnar
