As reported on Fightbox earlier in May, Bob Sapp was to face Russian mixed martial artist Aleksander Emelianenko, younger brother of the legendary Fedor and as predicted “The Beast” lost in typical fashion in the first round.
While this is certainly no surprise, considering Sapp’s last MMA win came in 2010, what I find really surprising is the fact that not only will promoters continue to book this clown, but that people will also continue to spend their hard earned money to see him fight.
Having been in the pro wrestling business for 12 years, I can certainly see the entertainment value of fighting sports, but what Bob Sapp has been doing for the past few years in mixed martial arts is not entertaining, it’s just plain embarrassing. The fight with Emelianenko ended the same way each of his last ten fights have:
1) Sapp gets introduced and looks like the meanest, most indestructible powerhouse on the planet
2) the bell rings
3) Sapp charges his opponent like he means business and throws a few weak punches
4) Sapp gets hit with one shot and drops to the ground
5) his opponent jumps on top of him and starts wailing on him
6) Sapp covers up and takes the beating until the ref stops it
7) his opponent wins
8) Sapp looks like a fool in front of millions of people
9) Sapp goes home and cashes his paycheck.
It seems like a pretty simple formula right? Sapp, at 6’5’’ (almost 2 meters tall) and well over 300 lbs (over 140kg) or solid muscle does an interview to promote the fight. “The Beast” is great at talking trash and selling a fight, making himself out to be an unstoppable monster of destruction. After all, he did get his start in pro wrestling, didn’t he? But once the bell rings, this mountain of a man shrinks to the size of a mouse, with only three of his 29 MMA fights going longer than the first round.
If the outcomes are not enough proof that Sapp is taking a dive every time he steps into the ring it only takes a minute to analyze his fight record and look at who he’s fighting and where he’s fighting them. In his last six fights he’s fought the hometown hero in their own country. Sapp is coming into a foreign land as “the bad guy” to make the local boy a hero. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Sapp loses to Aleksander Emelianenko in Russia (1st rd TKO due to punches)
- Sapp loses to Sao Panajotovic in Serbia (1st round submission due to punches)
- Sapp loses to Jong Dae Kim in South Korea (2nd round TKO due to punches)
- Sapp loses to Tolegen Akylbekov in Kazakhstan (1st round submission due to punches)
- Sapp loses to Soa Palelei in Australia (1st round TKO due to punches)
- Sapp loses to Mariusz Pudzianowski in Poland (1st round TKO due to punches)
This is basically the same as Hulk Hogan taking on The Iron Sheik, Sgt. Slaughter, Nikolai Volkoff, and every other threat to “the American Dream” in the WWF in the 80’s. The only difference is that people were expecting different things from Hogan than from Sapp. With Hogan, fans paid their money to see a great show and they got it, but with Sapp people paid their money to see a great fight and got deprived of it. At least Hogan gave the fans a five to ten minute match with drama and excitement. All Sapp gives the audience is an empty feeling in the pit of their stomach and a sour taste in their mouth.
The thing that still shocks me, as a mentioned earlier, is how any true fight fan could pay their money to buy a ticket to a Bob Sapp fight or pay to watch it on pay-per-view. How is it that his fights are always sold out? There is absolutely nothing entertaining about watching the same fight playing out again and again in the same way, but in a different country and against a different fighter. Evidently Sapp has enough charisma and intelligence to be able to peak enough people’s interest into seeing him fight, and I suppose that is commendable in a way. After all, MMA is a business and Bob Sapp certainly puts a lot of money not only in his own pocket with his shenanigans, but also in the pocket of the promoters he fights for. But a simple glance at his Wikipedia page and a quick search on Youtube of his fights will convince you of my point. Not convinced? Check out these links to the following fights I mentioned earlier.
So is Bob Sapp really “The Beast” or is he an embarrassment? Is he worthy of the MMA ring? What’s your opinion? Feel free to leave a comment on our Facebook page or send me an e-mail.
Daniel Austin
daniel.austin@spiintl.com
