10 Legendary MMA Bouts Where Both Fighter's Careers Never Recovered

In July 2010, at UFC 116, Brock Lesnar showed the heart of a champion with his impressive victory over Shane Carwin.

Given that he hasn't fought in the UFC in roughly a decade, many fans may not realize what an absolute terror Carwin was back in the day. Heading into the fight with Lesnar, he was sporting a perfect 12-0 record and had finished every single one of his opponents in round one.

Throughout the majority of the first round, Carwin absolutely pummeled the WWE star. It looked as though the ref was going to stop the fight on multiple occasions and would have probably been justified in doing so.

However, Lesnar managed to survive the initial onslaught and cinch in an arm-triangle on his exhausted opponent in the second round.

It was arguably Lesnar's finest moment inside the cage, but it would also end up being his final victory. In his next two bouts, 'The Beast' would suffer first-round TKO losses to Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem respectively.

After roughly five years away from the cage, Lesnar returned in 2016 to take on Mark Hunt. He won the fight, but the decision was later changed to a no-contest after the WWE champ failed a drug test.

Being diagnosed with diverticulitis likely played a significant role in Lesnar's decline. Of course, the beating he suffered at the hands of Carwin at UFC 116 certainly didn't help matters.

Carwin would fight just once more in the UFC, taking on (and losing to) Junior Dos Santos at UFC 131. Afterward, he would undergo back surgery.

Unable to fully recover following the surgery, Shane Carwin retired in May 2013.