Vegeta’s Best Fights in the Dragon Ball Super Anime (2024)

Vegeta was first introduced in Dragon Ball Z as the most powerful Saiyan and a merciless villain who conquers planets for a living. By Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta became a dedicated family man, a Super Saiyan God, and most of all, a hero. Unlike his fights in DBZ, which are an unpredictable mixture of villainous rampages and heroic redemptions, Vegeta's fights in Super are all about him taking a stand against the bad guys and defending the innocent.

While the Dragon Ball Super anime is hit-or-miss in terms of animation, it often picks up in quality during the important fight scenes, many of which feature Vegeta. DBS has Vegeta finally reach a level that equals his greatest rival, Goku, making the outcomes of his fights just as consequential as Goku's. While Goku does finally pull away as the strongest again by the end of the Tournament of Power, Vegeta has moments where he is even the stronger of the two, giving the Prince of All Saiyans the greatest chance at saving the world — even if it's only for a moment.

10 Vegeta's Rude Attitude Pays Off Against Magetta

Universe 6 Saga

Vegeta spent an entire lifetime harnessing his power and strength, which is what made his fight against the giant robot Magetta during the Universe 6 Tournament particularly interesting. Even as a Super Saiyan, Vegeta was unable to overpower Magetta, and it didn't help that Magetta's power hinged on him creating steam energy which sucked the oxygen out of the arena, effectively weakening Vegeta while Magetta grew stronger.

At one point, Vegeta was almost even knocked out of the ring, but he managed to stay in the fight by landing on a tiny fragment of the ring that had previously broken off. In the end, it wasn't Vegeta's unwavering spirit or his superior combat skill that led to his victory, but rather, his propensity to insult his opponents. When Vegeta called Magetta a "pathetic pile of junk", it proved to be more than the sensitive Metal Man could take, causing Magetta to lose the will to fight. Overall, Vegeta vs Magetta was definitely a bit sillier than most of the high-stakes fights fans have grown accustomed to seeing Vegeta take part in since the days of DBZ, and Bulma being there to cheer Vegeta on even made it somewhat heartwarming to watch.

9 Vegeta Defends His Bulma's Honor From Beerus

God of Destruction Beerus Saga

Considering Beerus is a literal God, Vegeta made an impressive stand against him during their first in Battle of Gods. Perhaps even more important than the actual fight itself was Vegeta's now iconic line "how dare you! That's my Bulma!" After Bulma is knocked out by Beerus, Master Roshi even claims that Vegeta's anger made him more powerful than Goku -- a statement which is questionable at best considering he still remains in his SSJ2 form.

No matter how much anger he had, the Saiyan Prince never stood any chance against Beerus in the end. But he did at least get off a few punches to defend the honor of his beloved wife. While the star of the battle is definitely Vegeta, the hidden MVP is really Bulma. Not only did she survive a smack to the face from the God of Destruction, but Bulma even somehow gets up afterward and is a major contributing factor to Beerus' decision not to destroy the Earth, thanks to her ability to bring him and Whis the Earth's finest cuisine on demand.

8 Vegeta Teaches Cabba a Valuable Lesson as a Saiyan

Universe 6 Saga

Vegeta's fight with Cabba during the Universe 6 Tournament is a big moment for the Prince's development as a character. In Vegeta's earliest appearance in DBZ, he killed Nappa -- his trusted partner and fellow saiyan -- all because he was too weak to serve Vegeta's needs. In contrast, Vegeta aims to nurture Cabba despite his weakness during their fight, taking on the mentor role to guide him -- even if it's mixed in with a bit of his characteristic tough love.

Vegeta shows that being the Prince of All Saiyans is about more than just being the strongest: it's about leading his people and helping uplift them. If anything, Vegeta would be a far better Prince to the saiyans in Dragon Ball Super than he ever would have been in DBZ. While he never outwardly says it, it's likely that meeting Cabba gave Vegeta hope for his beloved saiyan race which was left all-but-extinct in his own Universe.

7 Vegeta Feels the Force of Goku Black's New Strength

Future Trunks Saga

In Vegeta's first match with Goku Black in Future Trunks' time period, Black appears to stand no chance. Vegeta in SSJ Blue proves far superior to Goku Black in his base form, but surprisingly, this turn of events barely fazes Black at all. That's because Black gained a new power-up in the time since he first fought with Goku, called the SSJ Rose transformation. This is a Super Saiyan form infused with God ki, not unlike the SSJ God form Goku and Vegeta had discovered.

SSJ Rose makes Black immediately on par with SSJ Blue Vegeta, but a new Super Saiyan form isn't even the only surprise Goku Black has up his sleeve. Black also shows off his Hand Energy Blade technique for the first time, much to the ire of Vegeta's stomach, which feels the power of Black's hand sword firsthand.

6 Vegeta Reminds Golden Frieza Why he Feared the Power of the Saiyans

Golden Frieza Saga

Vegeta and Frieza have a storied history that extends even before the start of the Dragon Ball series. Frieza has tormented, terrorized and even tortured Vegeta in the past, so Vegeta's utter beatdown of Golden Frieza was a truly poetic moment for both characters. Vegeta rarely gets moments to shine and be the hero, a fact which makes his fight against Golden Frieza even more exciting for Vegeta fans to witness. Unfortunately, plot armor always has a way of working against Vegeta, and this case was no different.

Just before Vegeta could deal the finishing blow, Frieza destroyed the entire planet, forcing Whis to rewind time just enough to allow Goku to step in and kill Frieza before he could commit his final act of desperation. Even though Goku ultimately got the last attack in to save the day as he always does, Vegeta forcing Frieza to grovel in fear was a powerful moment for the Prince of all Saiyans, and a victory for the saiyan race as a whole.

5 Vegeta is the First to See Through Jiren's Attack

Universal Survival Saga

Jiren’s first fight against Vegeta and Goku set the stage for what to expect from the TOP's most powerful fighter. Even in their Super Saiyan Blue forms, both Goku and Vegeta could barely get a hit off on Jiren, let alone beat him. Between the two, Vegeta actually puts on the most impressive showing early on.

In the midst of the fight, Vegeta recognizes the secret to Jiren's incredibly fast flurry of punches, allowing him to get past Jiren's defenses for the first time. It's an impressive feat that shows how high Vegeta's combat IQ is. Even though he'd get beaten down badly in the end, Vegeta's ability to strike fear into Jiren for the first time is a glorious victory for the Saiyan Prince. The way Vegeta dodges Jiren's attacks makes Whis and Beerus both question whether Vegeta could have been "knocking on the door" of Ultra Instinct even before Goku was.

4 Vegeta Finally Defeats Goku Fair and Square

Super Hero Saga

Vegeta had a ton of great character building moments in Dragon Ball Super, and many of them came in the middle of fight scenes. However, in terms of displaying his true growth as a warrior, none have had as much impact as his fight against Goku in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Aside from it just being an awesome fight sequence with some great animation and fight choreography, Vegeta achieved what was arguably his greatest victory in the entire franchise: he finally beat Goku.

While the two weren't shown fighting in their strongest forms from the manga (perhaps Beerus would have gotten annoyed at the destruction it would've caused his home planet), this fight finally seemed to prove once and for all that, at the very least, Vegeta was the more skilled fighter than Goku. While whether Ultra Ego Vegeta can really beat UI Goku is still a debatable subject in the Dragon Ball fandom, there's no debating that, in their most recent fight in the series, Vegeta beat Goku.

3 Vegeta Shows Goku Black What Being a Saiyan Warrior is All About

Future Trunks Saga

Whenever Goku and Vegeta team up and agree to fight side by side, fans always know they're in for a spectacle, and that's certainly the case with their team up against Goku Black and Zamasu. What's so special about this particular fight for Vegeta is that he really outshines everyone, even Goku himself — and for good reason.

Vegeta takes it personally that Zamasu would take over the body of a saiyan instead of training for their own power. Vegeta's pride as a saiyan is the most important thing for him, so for someone to try to steal a saiyan's power — even a "clown" like Goku — boils Vegeta's blood to no end. Of course, it also helps that his opponent is Goku Black, giving him a face that Vegeta has always wanted to pummel into the ground.

2 Vegeta Learns Firsthand Why His Father Exiled Broly All Those Years Ago

Broly Saga

His fight against Broly in the Dragon Ball Super: Broly film was at once both a great win and an upsetting loss for Vegeta. Vegeta’s unparalleled skill and combat experience initially made Broly look like a joke at first. This showed that Vegeta's lifetime of combat experience unequivocally paid off. However, the Legendary Super Saiyan's incredible capacity for growth enables him to quickly surpass Vegeta, even as the latter powered-up to a Super Saiyan God and beyond.

The Super: Broly film is easily one of the best pieces of Dragon Ball media in terms of production quality, making it a true joy to watch Vegeta get mercilessly beaten by Broly. If nothing else, Vegeta's fight with Broly proved that King Vegeta was right in what he suspected of Broly's potential. Had Broly been left to grow and prosper on Planet Vegeta alongside Vegeta, it's undeniable that he would have quickly usurped the throne, as saiyan society valued strength and power above all else. Even though Vegeta was the rightful heir to the throne, there’s no way he could have continued to reign over someone with the potential Broly had.

1 Vegeta Teaches Toppo That Strength is About More Than Destruction

Universal Survival Saga

Toppo was a candidate to be a God of Destruction, and he certainly proved why in the final stretch of the Tournament of Power. After tapping into his GOD powers, Toppo had only one thought in mind; destruction. In a way, that mirrors how Vegeta once viewed the world himself, because in his first fight against Goku, Vegeta would have stopped at nothing to achieve power and stomp out anyone who opposed him. This gives Vegeta's fight against Toppo something of a double meaning, because it’s as though he’s fighting the old version of himself. Vegeta has experienced that path already, and came out as a wiser person because of it.

Vegeta was ultimately forced to use the Final Explosion technique to knock out Toppo with him, calling back to Vegeta's ultimate sacrifice against Majin Buu. This showed how his life had truly come full circle as a person since the time when Vegeta traded his humanity to become a Majin. Aside from being one of Vegeta's coolest fights in Super just based on the fact that it included some awesome fight sequences and attacks, Vegeta’s fight with Toppo was a highlight of Vegeta's entire character arc in the Dragon Ball series.

Dragon Ball Super

With Majin Buu defeated half-a-year prior, peace returns to Earth, where Son Goku (now a radish farmer) and his friends now live peaceful lives.