While making the media rounds to promote his new Real American Freestyle (RAF) Wrestling league, WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan made a claim that doesn’t align with wrestling history.
During a May 1st interview with TMZ Sports, Hogan brought up his experience with wrestlers from combat sports backgrounds and claimed he wrestled Brock Lesnar immediately after Lesnar’s first UFC run.
“I’ve been in the ring with some really crazy wrestlers. Like, I got Brock Lesnar right after he left the UFC. I got him first,” Hogan said, according to several outlets covering the TMZ interview.
However, this statement contradicts the documented timeline of Lesnar’s career. Hogan and Lesnar only faced off once in WWE, and that match took place well before Lesnar’s MMA career ever began. The bout aired on the August 8, 2002 episode of SmackDown, where Lesnar defeated Hogan via submission in a dominant showing during his initial rise toward the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Lesnar didn’t leave WWE until 2004 and debuted in UFC in 2008, winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship in 2008 and eventually retiring from MMA (for the first time) in December 2011. Lesnar returned to WWE in April 2012, and his first match post-UFC was against John Cena at Extreme Rules 2012, not Hulk Hogan. Hogan was working in TNA Wrestling at the time and was not involved in any Lesnar storyline or match.
While the two legends did appear in a backstage segment on WWE Raw in 2014, they did not compete in the ring together after Lesnar’s MMA run.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Hogan has made the same incorrect claim. It’s a recurring story he has told publicly in the past. Despite Hogan’s legendary status and charisma, this version of events is not supported by WWE’s or UFC’s documented history.
The interview was part of Hogan’s media blitz to promote the newly launched RAF Wrestling league alongside Eric Bischoff and Izzy Martinez, aiming to blend real amateur wrestling with sports entertainment elements. While Hogan is known for colorful promotional stories, this particular anecdote adds to the growing list of historical inaccuracies he’s shared over the years.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more updates on RAF Wrestling, Hulk Hogan, and Brock Lesnar’s storied legacy.
