Mark December 21st, 2008 down on your calendars as the day that left me at a complete loss to explain something that is happening in the Japanese fight sport marketplace. I understand gravure idols and soap opera stars wrestling in HUSTLE. I understand why Akiyama is hated by everyone and why Sakuraba is beloved. I understand exploding no-rope barbed wire blood fests, the significance of Rikidozen and have a frightening knowledge of sumo history. This story concerning the DREAM/K-1 New Years’ Eve show has left me at a complete loss to explain what is going on. For some reason, however, I don’t think I’m alone….

You all remember Bob Sapp–the big black dude who had a fighting career in Japan. He competed in K-1 as a more or less serious fighter(to his credit he did KO the great Ernesto Hoost twice) until Mirko Cro Cop introduced his fist to Sapp’s orbital bone in one of the most brutal KO’s in fight sports history. Here it is if you haven’t seen it before…the coup de grace is at approximately the 2:50 mark…

Sapp recovered from the fracture of his orbital bone but his fight career never really did. He kept competing, winning kickboxing battles against opponents brought in to make him look good like Kimo Leopoldo and the first ever American born sumo yokuzuna, Akebono. He also did what Kimbo Slice couldn’t do and KO’d Seth Petruzelli in 2004. He didn’t fare well when stepping up in class and a brutal TKO loss to “Mr. K-1″ Peter Aerts was his last kickboxing action. His MMA career also ended when he was destroyed by Jan Nortje at a K-1 event in Tacoma, WA in early 2008. Nortje was brought in to make Sapp look good in front of his hometown fans and entered the contest with a 1-5 MMA record and dispatched “The Beast” in under a minute. Sapp’s greatest success has been in Japanese pro wrestling, where he actually won the IWGP when (I’m going to have trouble writing this next bit) he defeated legendary Kensuke Sasaki. Sapp’s biggest problem has always been his lack of conditioning. On several occasions, he’s become winded during his ring walk. Pro wrestling is not a bad venue for him as he’s definitely got an intimidating “look”, but really has no business being in a “shoot” fight environment. Furthermore, in pro wrestling he can be booked against good workers like Sasaki, Keiji Mutoh and Shinsuke Nakamura. These guys could carry a mop to a watchable match, which is why you typically see Sapp booked against legendary workers like these. Here’s Sapp’s IWGP Title win against Sasaki. He’s really not bad for his lack of experience. Granted, anyone can look good working with Sasaki but he definitely is superior to stiffs like The Ultimate Warrior (Jim Hellwig) and Sid Vicious (Sid Eudy) that had long careers in US pro wrestling:

Here’s the first part of Sapp’s match against The Great Muta. Our managing editor, Jim Murphy, made me put this up because he’s a huge Muta mark and considers this one of Muta’s best ring entrances ever. Sapp’s ersatz “Apollo Creed” entrance is just hilarious:

While Sapp may not be much of a fighter, I’ve always had a lot of respect for his ability to make the most of his opportunities. He leveraged his fame from fighting to become one of those uniquely Japanese celebrities that are ubiquitous in their pop culture. It’s hard to turn on the TV in Japan without coming across Sapp in a talk show or a commercial. He’s even released a music CD with the clever title “It’s Sapp Time” Here’s Sapp in a commercial for a pizza chain:

Here’s my personal favorite: a Bob Sapp themed pachislo slot machine:

So that’s the Bob Sapp story. In Part 2 of this series of posts we’ll talk about Sapp’s just announced “fight” at Fields Dynamite! that has left me at a loss to provide explanation or context….