Ilja Dragunov is proud of his moment with Brock Lesnar.
The former US Champion got to share the ring with the Beast Incarnate briefly during the Royal Rumble match this year. Dragunov did his best to make a dent in Lesnar’s armour, but Brock no-sold all his offence, and the former World Champion ended up eliminating Ilja with little difficulty.
The Mad Dragon opened up about the notion that the former UFC star buried him during their exchange in a recent interview with Adrian Hernandez. Ilja Dragunov claimed that just getting the chance to share the ring with an influential talent like Lesnar was stunning:
“Guys, please. I was toe-to-toe in front of Brock Lesnar. How many people in this lifetime can do this? Brock Lesnar has been so influential and so significant for the entire history of this company. Having the chance to just have this moment that was perfectly expressing who I am, is just stunning.”
I Take It As A Medal: Ilja Dragunov
Ilja Dragunov explained that losing the fight to Lesnar did not diminish his character at all. According to the 32-year-old, it only strengthened his image as someone who faces his fears head-on, no matter the consequences:
“Of course you’re gonna lose fights in your life. But the person that Ilja Dragunov is, is I’m gonna step up, I’m gonna face my fear, I’m not gonna hold back. And if I need to suffer the punishment from that, I gladly will do so.
And some people will not understand that, and say, oh he got just ragdolled out of it, but I take it as a medal towards myself that I brought the best fight that I could bring to the absolute beast.”
The SmackDown star was taken out of the US title picture after the Brock Lesnar exchange and he also ended up missing WrestleMania. You can check out what Dragunov said about the Mania exclusion here.