Taming the Beast: 10 Fighters Who Could Have Their Way with Brock Lesnar

Lets face it—Brock Lesnar is a monster of a man and a tremendous challenge for any fighter.

That being said, he is not invincible.

There are fighters out there who on any given Sunday could defeat Lesnar and put him in his place.

Brock, in turn, could certainly defeat these men, but the following 10 fighters are more than capable of doing the deed.

In fact, several of them would be considered favorites going into such a fight.

There is always a sleeping giant hiding under a rock somewhere, and these men are certainly hiding under the radar.

A few could only fight Brock in their prime and even though some have seen better days, they certainly deserve to be mentioned.

The one true rule of fighting is that there is always someone bigger, stronger, or faster.

Always.

Antonio Silva

Antonio Silva is a fighter currently under contract with Strikeforce.

With a record of 14-2, Antonio is making noise that's being heard all around the MMA world.

Will he ever join the UFC?

Who knows?

One thing we do know is that Brock would have to be careful fighting this man.

Antonio is highly skilled with notable victories against the likes of Andre Arlovski, Ricco Rodriguez, Jim York, and Wesley Correira.

His only two defeats were at the hands of Eric Pele and Fabricio Werdum.

It might be a long shot to think that Silva could beat Lesnar, but it is still a shot nonetheless.

The following is a clip of Antonio in action.

Sergei Kharitonov

Sergei currently boasts a record of 16-4.

At first glance he may not appear to have the goods but Kharitonov is a great fighter.

To underestimate him based on appearance alone would be a very bad mistake indeed.

He has beaten many fighters much larger than himself.

He possesses dynamite in his fists, and that is what makes him so deadly.

Sergei has wins over fighters such as Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, and Pedro Rizzo among others.

Because he has beaten elite opponents in the past, there is no reason he could not do the same to Brock Lesnar.

A little luck would not hurt his cause though.

He is certainly not invincible, as he has loses to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Aleksander Emelianenko, and most recently, "The Snowman" Jeff Monson.

This is nothing to be ashamed of in those defeats as they were against heavy duty opponents.

Kharitonov recently signed with Strikeforce and will be featured on upcoming cards.

Watching him fight in Strikeforce will exciting.

Check out the following highlight of Kharitonov in action.

Ricardo Arona

The first thing you might think after viewing this choice is "this writer is out of his mind."

While that may be true, even a madman can tell the truth.

To date, Ricardo Arona has been Fedor Emelianenko's most difficult match.

In fact, quite a few fans who watched the fight seem to agree that Arona was robbed of a decision.

Despite some questionable losses at the light heavyweight level, if he can compete with Fedor, he can beat anyone — including Brock Lesnar.

Arona has several notable victories such as wins over many elite fighters like Alistair Overeem, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, and Kazushi Sakuraba.

That is a very impressive group of fighters.

There is no reason Brock would not end up on that list as well.

Fortunately for fans everywhere, Arona is planning a return to MMA.

While this is good news, it is unclear exactly who he will fight and what organization he will fight for.

The following highlight reel includes footage from his fight with Fedor.

Pay close attention and of course, enjoy.

Jeff Monson

Jeff "The Snowman" Monson boasts a current record of 33-11. He stands 5'9" and weighs in at a slender 245 lbs.

"I am an anarchist, someone who would like to do away with all class hierarchy in society and the institutions that promote this inequality."

The above is a direct quote from Jeff Monson.

He is a Wobbly, an Anarchist, and a grappling juggernaut. He also holds a Masters degree in Psychology.

Whatever his politics might be, there can be no question that he lays down his own law (or lack thereof) inside the cage.

Jeff has many victories, including wins over Sergei Kharitonov, Roy Nelson, and Ricco Rodriguez.

Of course he has suffered some very harsh defeats at the hands of fighters like Josh Barnett, Tim Sylvia, and Chuck Liddell.

Those fighters have all been champions at one time or another and are nothing to sneeze at.

Chuck Liddell was actually forced to go the distance in order to defeat Monson.

Going the distance for a victory is not a very common event in Chuck's career.

Despite his fantastic punching power, he was unable to put Jeff down for good. Monson was just too durable and still is.

Jeff is certainly a polarizing figure, yet his skill and ability cannot be denied.

He is probably the greatest pure grappler in the history of MMA.

His combination of endurance, strength, and grappling skill would make him a dangerous opponent for not only Brock Lesnar, but also Fedor himself.

Please enjoy the following Monson montage.

Ikuhisa Minowa

Ikuhisa Minowa has an incredible record of 46-30-8

Now before you start screaming, be aware that we are talking about Brock Lesnar and fighters that could defeat him.

Why Minowa?

Several reasons.

To begin with Minowa - though only 185 lbs - is very familiar with fighting gigantic men.

He often participates in open weight tournaments, including the Superhulk Tourney where he defeated Bob Sapp.

Minowa has defeated huge opponents with regularity.

Some of his victims include the aforementioned Bob Sapp, Giant Silva, and Kimo.

In addition to his familiarity with facing larger opponents, Minowa just happens to be a leg and ankle lock master.

As we have seen in Brock's previous fights he is vulnerable to such an attack.

Brock would also have a very hard time getting his paws on Minowa who has learned to avoid behemoths in the past.

They say match-ups make the fight.

Minowa has experienced much greater success when fighting larger opponents.

For example, some of his thirty-plus losses include smaller men such as Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, and Kazushi Sakuraba.

It can be noted that all three of those opponents were world champions at one time or another.

Laugh if you want but this guy could make Brock cry.

Enjoy the following example of his particular skills.

Josh Barnett

Josh Barnett is an incredibly dangerous opponent.

Despite his recent involvement with alleged steroid abuse, there can be no question that Josh is a top 10 heavyweight.

Barnett could cripple anyone on a good day.

His record stands at 25-5 with great wins versus opponents such as Randy Couture, Aleksander Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Mark Hunt.

That is quite a resume and he is certainly capable of handling Brock Lesnar's size and power.

On the feet or on the ground, he is equally dangerous. He does, however, prefer striking matches.

Recently he was scheduled to fight Fedor Emelianenko but was denied a license by the California Athletic Commission.

Apparently he failed a test for anabolic steroids.

The controversy is not over though so it would be premature to suggest he is a steroid user.

Hopefully he will still be able to fight Fedor later this year.

It has been suggested that Fedor will fight Josh instead of Overeem in order to conclude his (Fedor's) contract with Strikeforce.

This guy could put a serious hurting on Brock Lesnar.

He might also get brutally beaten but that's the MMA game.

Stay tuned for the latest information.

In the meantime, please enjoy the following brief interview.

Alistair Overeem

Yes, Alistair Overeem.

His record is good but not really worth mentioning.

Why?

Alistair fought most of his fights at a lower weight and his record as a heavyweight is that of a completely different person.

His heavyweight record stands at 6-1 with his only loss coming by way of Kharitonov.

Ironically, he defeated Kharitonov previously as a light heavyweight.

Since becoming a heavyweight, Overeem has plowed through his opponents.

As a result, he is currently the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and recently defended his title successfully against Brett Rogers.

Alistair has become embroiled in controversy. From steroid claims, to chasing Fedor, it seems like he is always in the news these days.

Whatever you might think about Overeem, he certainly would pose a great challenge for an inexperienced Brock Lesnar.

Alistair is almost the same size and certainly possesses great speed which could counter Brock's uncanny agility.

Brock would have to be very careful attempting take-downs as Alistair has incredible knee strikes and a knack for chocking people out.

It would come as no surprise at all were he to raise his hand in victory after submitting Brock with a guillotine.

As the Strikeforce champion one might think he would be more active in the organization. On the contrary, Alistair has only managed one title defense in three years.

That is not exactly the definition of "active."

Whatever the case, Alistair has all the skills needed to not only defeat Brock, but give him a royal spanking.

Take a gander at Overeem...

Bobby Hoffman

Also known as "The Truth," Bobby Hoffman is difficult to describe.

Once you start trying to describe him, you find yourself using the words maniac, lunatic, and insane over and over again.

Make of that what you will.

His MMA career has ended but it was long and full of some of the most brutal fighting ever displayed in MMA.

This guy was not just a bad guy; he was a super-villain.

Bobby Hoffman made Brock Lesnar look like a choir boy.

He has many notable victories that include wins over Alistair Overeem, Paul Buentello, and Heath Herring.

He has also suffered quite a few narrow defeats.

Some of these include a fight with Eric Pele in which Pele was actually knocked out at the very end of the first round. Pele thought the fight had ended but he quickly regained his senses and eventually got on top of Bobby and TKO'd him.

"On top" you say?

Well yes, Brock might get the top position on a younger Bobby Hoffman but there is a big difference between a 280 lb Brock Lesnar and a 340 lb Eric Pele.

Unfortunately, Hoffman he has always had troubles.

He has some serious anger issues and he is not the kind of person you would want to invite over for tea.

This guy would not wait for the event, he would attack Lesnar at the weigh-in.

He is a violent maniac, and if he had fought Brock back in his prime it would have been an amazing battle.

Enjoy the following 17 seconds of Bobby Hoffman knocking out Alistair Overeem.

Aleksander Emelianenko

This is Fedor's brother of course.

His bigger brother.

If that doesn't frighten you then you need to lay off the Prozac for a while.

Aleks has always been a mysterious figure.

While sharing the same stoic demeanor as his brother Fedor, he is, at the same time, the complete opposite.

Covered in dark-themed tattoos and rumors of foul deeds involving the Russian mob, Aleks is a very interesting character.

There has been a desire for him to come to the USA and fight for the UFC or Strikeforce for a long time.

For some unknown reason he is either unwilling or unable to do so.

Instead he is beating up unknown fighters all over Asia and Europe.

Aleks possesses incredible punching power, but lacks his brother's ground game. He can still fight on the ground but he definitely prefers a stand-up fight.

Emelianenko has beaten the likes of Eric Pele, Sergei Kharitonov, and James Thompson.

Probably his most notable defeat was at the hands of Fabricio Werdum with Fedor watching.

Still, he is a great striker and is used to fighting large men.

He is bigger than Fedor and most likely hits even harder. These qualities would be difficult for Lesnar to deal with because he is not used to being "pushed back" so to speak.

The following is an example of what might happen to Brock Lesnar should he ever have the opportunity to fight Aleks.

Aleksander Karelin

Now we finally get to the cream of the crop.

Shockingly Karelin is not even an MMA competitor, yet has all the tools needed to end Brock forever.

Or anyone else for that matter.

He would utterly annihilate Brock Lesnar and shock the whole world by tossing Brock completely out of the cage.

He is the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler to ever live.

Karelin's wrestling pedigree makes Brock Lesnar's accomplishments look so small you need an electron microscope just to get a fuzzy view of them.

He was so completely dominant that he did not even give up a single point in over six years.

He has over 20 gold medals from several Olympic appearances and various other world championships.

His only loss in his entire life took place at the Sydney Olympics where he was upset in the Gold Medal match by American wrestler Rulon Gardner.

If this man had chosen to pursue MMA in the way Brock has done, he would likely be even better than Fedor; perhaps even dwarfing him and everyone else on Earth.

If you have never heard of this man or are unfamiliar with his story, discovering him would certainly be a worthwhile pursuit.

The following are some highlights that might impress you.