Former teammate and current NFL Network analyst Nate Burleson vividly remembers the time Brock Lesner—who made his successful return to UFC over the weekend—suplexed an opponent during a joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs.
“Somebody cheap-shotted Daunte Culpepper late,” Burleson said, via ESPN. “And Brock was like, ‘Who did it?’ The next play, he went and suplexed the guy. He picked up a grown man after the play. It was a Royal Rumble: Minnesota versus Kansas City. That was a nasty suplex on the football field.”
After gaining fame as a decorated WWE champion, Lesner left the business and signed with the Vikings, spending the 2004 training camp with the team. He was eventually cut by Minnesota toward the end of August, but not before he could use his vast wrestling experience to protect his team’s franchise quarterback.
There is currently no known video evidence of the suplex. That’s really too bad, because seeing Lesner body slam a grown NFL player in the middle of a joint practice would be entertainment at the highest levels.
Lesner, 38, defeated Mark Hunt by unanimous decision during Saturday night’s UFC 200, marking his triumphant return to mixed martial arts after a five-year hiatus.
General rule of thumb: Don’t mess with Brock Lesner. Or his quarterback. Breaking the rule makes you liable to be violently suplexed by the one of the most terrifying men in the world.