Ilja Dragunov Says He Didn’t Know What Brock Lesnar’s Reaction Would Be To His Chops

Jeremy LambertApril 29, 2026, 4:03 pm

Ilja Dragunov entered the men’s Royal Rumble at number 17, lasting just over 10 minutes before he was eliminated by Brock Lesnar.

Dragunov hit Lesnar with a series of chops, before Lesnar screamed at him and then tossed him over the top rope and to the floor. Many fans were upset over Lesnar no selling the chops.

Speaking to Adrian Hernandez of Unlikely, Dragunov was asked about the spot and fans supporting him.

“It was absolutely 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 significant in the history of this company. Having a chance to have this moment, I perfectly expressed who I am. It was stunning. I’m the guy who steps up to the biggest beast you can possible imagine, and I don’t hold back. You’re going to lose fights in your life. The person who Ilja Dragunov is, is I’m going to step up, face my fear, not hold back, and if I need to suffer the punishment from that, I will gladly do so. Some people will not understand that and say, ‘He just got ragdolled out,’ but I take it as a medal towards myself that I brought the best fight that I could bring to The Beast,” he said.

Asked if he knew what Lesnar’s reaction was going to be, Dragunov replied, “I had no idea. You never know what’s going to happen. Even outside of this scenario, I don’t know if people believe that everything is made step by step and emotion by emotion,but it is action with one cut. A lot of things that happen happen organically, and you don’t know how everything will work out. Most things, I roll with the punches.”

After the event, Dragunov called the spot with Lesnar his favorite moment of the Rumble.

Lesnar has since retired from wrestling, leaving his boots and gloves in the ring at WrestleMania 42 after losing to Oba Femi.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit and link to the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.