Bob Sapp
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Minnesota Vikings | |
Robert Malcolm Sapp[1] aka Bob "The Beast" Sapp (born September 22, 1974) is an American kickboxer, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and former world champion professional wrestler and professional American Football player. Sapp currently has an MMA record of 8-2-1 as of December 2005, mostly fighting in Korea and Japan. He is well-known in Japan, where he has appeared in commercials, television programs, and has released a music CD entitled "It's Sapp Time". Sapp also appeared in an episode of the HBO program Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. In Japan he has appeared in 23 commercials, 200 times on TV, in 1000 interviews, on 200 products with his name or image, as an author or subject of 4 books (according to his self-introduction in the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 11 August 2003).
National Football League
Bob Sapp is known as "The Beast". Bob Sapp is not related to Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Warren Sapp. Sapp began his athletic career in college football as a standout offensive lineman for the University of Washington, where he won the Morris Award. Expected by some to get high notice from pro scouts in the 1997 NFL draft, he slipped to the third round before being chosen by the Chicago Bears at 69th overall. Although Sapp was under pro contract for the next four seasons (Chicago Bears '97, Minnesota Vikings '98, Baltimore Ravens '99, and Oakland Raiders '00 [2], each of which cut him within that season), he appeared in only one regular season game before washing out of the league. Bob went on to fight (and defeat) William "The Refrigerator" Perry in a Toughman boxing special promoted by the FX channel.
PRIDE Fighting Championships
Sapp was subsequently recruited by the Japanese MMA organization PRIDE, where he quickly became a fan favorite due to his preternatural size and aggression. After a number of successes in Pride, Sapp was then invited by Kazuyoshi Ishii to K-1. Ishii, inventor of the fighting sport K-1, saw in Sapp the combination of great potential and great marketability.
Professional Wrestling
Bob Sapp's pro-wrestling career started in NWA Wildside in 2001. He was briefly contracted by World Championship Wrestling as a developmental wrestler, before the company was buyed out by the WWE, then WWF. In 2004, Sapp competed for New Japan Pro Wrestling, winning their prestigious IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, though it was vacated shortly thereafter due to a mixed martial arts fight loss and film commitments.
PRIDE Fighting Championships
After arriving in Japan, Sapp fought a number of well-regarded Japanese fighters, winning all his bouts through sheer strength and size. During this time fans were first introduced to Sapp's "bullrush" technique, whereby he would rush an opponent with punches, quickly overwhelming them. PRIDE and K-1 collaborated to create a show billed "Dynamite" in Japan and "Shockwave" in the United States. He faced then-champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Sapp was defeated and shortly afterward moved to K-1.
K-1
Despite losing his first fight by disqualification, Sapp was initially successful in K-1. He twice defeated four-time K-1 champion Ernesto Hoost by technical knockout. Sapp's initial success with his intimidating, blind chase-and-punch method slowly petered out into disqualifications for bullrushing and punching after referee breaks. Additionally, experienced opponents discovered Sapp's weak points—his weak chin and legs. He also engaged in an ineffective but entertaining defensive stance consisting of cowering away from attacks and spinning around in a circle. In what marked the beginning of his K-1 decline, Sapp was knocked out by Croatian Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović in 86 seconds at the March 30, 2003, Saitama event. After Filipović landed several solid kicks to his sides and legs, an overhand left broke Sapp's orbital bone. In May 2004 he tapped out while on the ground due to kicks and strikes from Kazuyuki Fujita.
In June 2005, Sapp won the K-1 Japan Grand Prix in Hiroshima to become one of 16 fighters qualified for the 2005 K-1 World GP. In the Japan GP, Sapp showcased greatly improved stamina, as well as better technique, than in his previous fights after intensive training under Sam Greco. In the K-1 2005 World GP Eliminations he lost by decision to "The Techno Goliath" Choi Hong-man.
On May 13 2006, Sapp was to headline the K-1 show in Holland. His opponent was Ernesto Hoost. Hoost stated in previous interviews and the interview on that show that this was to be his last match in Holland before his retirement. Sapp attended all the pre-fight press conferences and even attended the opening ceremonies for the show. It is unclear at the moment as to why, but Sapp pulled out of the event midway through the show.
K-1 issued a statement claiming Sapp pulled out due to new demands he brought to promoters during the show. K-1 would not agree to those demands since they felt their written contract was final and Sapp left. The full K-1 press release can be viewed on the organization's website.
Sapp has not issued a statement, but a different point of view on the events that occurred[3].
He most recently has been getting offers from the WWE again as well as TNA to work with them, but his K-1 contract is prohibiting him from going through with any return to the ring.
Cage Rage
On February 10, 2007 it was announced by the United Kingdom's Cage Rage promotion - the biggest MMA group in Europe - that Sapp would appear on its Cage Rage 21 event on April 21, facing Gary Turner. The move is partly a retaliatory one, as the UFC had chosen to run its first British show in years that same night at the Manchester Evening News Arena, headlined by Mirko Cro Cop, Andrei Arlovski and British star (and one-time Cage Rage competitor) Michael Bisping. Though Cage Rage promoter Andy Geer said that the UFC show would not affect ticket sales for CR21, the signing of Sapp was a clear sign that the company knew it would need a superstar draw in order to successfully compete with the American promotion. A few days before the event Bob Sapp pulled out of the scheduled fight. At short notice, Tank Abbott stepped in and lost to Gary Turner.
Championships and accomplishments
- 2005 K-1 Japan GP Champion
- Best Box Office Draw (2002)
- Rookie of the Year (2002)
- Best Box Office Draw (2003)
- Most Charismatic Wrestler (2003)
MMA Record
Kickboxing Record
10 Wins - 6 Losses - 0 Draws | |||||
Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Method | Round |
12/31/2005 | Loss | Mack Cox | K-1 - Premium Dynamite 2005 | Decision | 3R |
6/14/2005 | Win | Tatsufumi Tomihira | K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 - Hiroshima | Decision | 3R |
6/14/2005 | Win | Hiraku Hori | K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 - Hiroshima | KO | 2R, 1:54 |
6/14/2005 | Win | Yoshihiro Nakao | K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 - Hiroshima | Decision | 3R |
6/26/2004 | Loss | Ray Sefo | K-1 - Beast 2004 Shizuoka | KO | 2R, 0:29 |
4/30/2004 | Win | Tommy Glanville | K-1 - Battle at the Bellagio 2 | KO | 1R, 0:33 |
3/27/2004 | Win | Seth Petruzelli | K-1 - Saitama 2004 | TKO (elbow injury) | 1R, 0:57 |
12/31/2003 | Win | Akebono | K-1 - Premium 2003 Dynamite | KO | 1R, 2:58 |
10/11/2003 | Loss | Remy Bonjasky | K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 - Opening Round | DQ | 2R |
8/15/2003 | Win | Kimo Leopoldo | K-1 - Battle at the Bellagio | TKO | 2R, 1:11 |
3/30/2003 | Loss | Mirko Filipovic | K-1 Saitama Grand Prix 2003 | KO | 1R, 1:26 |
12/7/2002 | Win | Ernesto Hoost | K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 - Finals | KO | 2R, 2:53 |
10/5/2002 | Win | Ernesto Hoost | K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 - Opening Round | TKO (doctor stoppage) | 1R, 3:00 |
9/22/2002 | Win | Cyril Abidi | K-1 - Andy Spirits | TKO | 1R, 1:17 |
6/2/2002 | Loss | Tsuyoshi Nakasako | K-1 - Survival 2002 | DQ | 1R |
Filmography
- Big Stan (2007)
- The Longest Yard (2005) as Switowski
- Elektra (2005) as Stone
- Devilman (2005) as World Newscaster
- Izo (2004)
- Taiho Shichauzo (2003) as Bob Hage
- Bob Sapp: Sapp Time The Movie! (2003) documentary
Trivia
![]() | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (May 2007) |
- He has endorsed various minor consumables and promotion materials, including mouse pads, trading cards, coffee mugs, tote bags, T shirts, apple crunch cakes.
- His likeness is featured in Beast Sapp, a Pachinko slot machine.
- He defeated William "Refrigerator" Perry in a toughman boxing competition on FX.
- He defeated "Butterbean" (Eric Esch) in a sumo match.
- Bob Sapp appears to have been referenced in the Tekken series of fighting games designed by Namco. The character Craig Marduk is loosely based on Bob Sapp both in appearance and fighting style (even down to trademark moves).
- He is a Northwest Airlines' Seattle-to-Tokyo route ambassador.
- The boss character "Behemoth" in the WWE WrestleMania XIX video game is loosely based on Bob Sapp.
- He is mentioned and featured in the hentai manga Seisou.
References
External links
- Bob Sapp's Professional MMA record at Sherdog.com
- Bob Sapp's K-1 Kickboxing and MMA record at K-1sport.de
- A Beast Is Made: The Bob Sapp Story
- Profile at Obsessed with Wrestling
References
- Articles lacking sources from May 2007
- Articles with trivia sections from May 2007
- 1972 births
- American actors
- American football offensive linemen
- American kickboxers
- American mixed martial artists
- American professional wrestlers
- Gaijin tarento
- Living people
- Washington Huskies football players
- World Champion professional wrestlers
- African American professional wrestlers