In part 1 of this post, we provided some background of the uniquely Japanese rise to fame of former NFL football player Bob Sapp. By now you’re no doubt wondering what has transpired that has left someone who is considered to be an expert on fighting in Japan at such a loss. Don’t worry, gentle reader, we’re getting to that.

A few days ago, DREAM announced that Sapp will fight on the New Years’ Eve Fields Dynamite! card. That in itself isn’t particularly strange, the rest of it is. The Sapp fight will be “promoted” by DJ Ozma. DJ Ozma is yet another somewhat inexplicable Japanese celebrity, nominally a pop singer who has released two CD’s called “I (heart) Party People” and “I (heart) Party People 2″. He’s better known for his elaborate and outrageous onstage antics. MMA fans at least have some context to understand DJ Ozma: if you remember Akihiro Gono’s classic PRIDE intros you’ll recall that he was “in character” as “DJ Gozma”. His antics were a parody of/homage to DJ Ozma, who appeared with Gono on a few occasions. Here’s a typical DJ Ozma performance. His music won’t be replacing Megadeth and Slayer in heavy rotation at SAVSCI World HQ, but the dude can put on a show:

So DJ Ozma is promoting a fight at Fields Dynamite! with Bob Sapp vs. Kinniku Mantaro. If you’re not familar with Kinniku Mantaro there’s a reason for that: he’s a cartoon. This profile at Nightmare of Battle explains it all:

Kinniku Mantaro is the 59th prince of Planet Muscle (Planet Kinniku) and son of the first Kinnikuman, Suguru Muscle and Belinda Bibinba. Raised during times of peace, he is a spoiled, cowardly, lazy teenager, much like his father was except with more emphasis on cowardice and less on clumsiness. He usually start matches off in a cowardly state, only managing to get a few good moves in due to luck. However, when his friends are in trouble or his opponent is being dishonorable, he manages to reach the state of Kajiba no Kuso Djikara (Burning Inner Strength). When this happens, the Niku-Mark appears on his forehead and his strength, stamina, and technique increase many fold.

Here’s his highlight video:

So we’ve got Bob Sapp vs. a cartoon character. And lest you think that this is some bizarre joke, here’s the link to the press conference announcing Sapp v. Kinniku Mantaro from the DREAM Official website:

Bob Sapp v. Kinniku Mantaro @ DREAM Official

And here’s a picture of Sapp’s opponent:

Think it can’t get any stranger? Kinniku Mantaro’s “human form” is actually Akihito Tanaka, who has legit and impressive amateur wrestling credentials. He’s won the All Japan Freestyle Wrestling Championship seven times. And since the fight is being contested under MMA rules, there’s a decent chance that the cartoon character will win. DREAM is apparently impressed with Tanaka and thinks that he’s got a future in MMA. And what better way to introduce him to the discerning Japanese fight fans than to dress him up as an anime character. Hey, it worked for Leon White (Big Van Vader).

And, of course, Kinniku Mantaro will wear a mask during the fight. Like you had to ask. Not the same mask in the photo but one “more appropriate for MMA”. There is some precedent for this, as luchadore Dos Caras Jr. fought in PRIDE wearing a mask.

We’ll keep you posted, but don’t expect us to make any sense of this.