Bob Sapp: biography
Charming and charismatic fighter Bob Sapp, whose height is 6.43 ft. (196 cm), and the weight is 350.53 lbs. (159 kg), is a professional mixed martial artist, actor, and former American football player. By a twist of fate, his sports career has been connected with Japan, where the athlete became a very successful showman, having signed a contract with famous promotions, including the K-1 and the Rizin Fighting Federation. Nowadays, he competes in the Pro Wrestling.
Childhood and youth
Robert Malcolm Sapp, later nicknamed The Beast, was born on September 22, 1974, in Colorado Springs. Having spent his childhood in the sports capital of the USA, he was fond of American football. At first, he played for the Mitchell High School Junior League, and then received a scholarship and continued his career in Washington.
There, the young man won the Morris Award, annually awarded to the best players of the student conference, and in 1997 he was drafted in the NFL. The Chicago Bears team selected him with the 69th pick. For unknown reasons, he signed a contract with Minnesota Vikings, but he was fired and forced to pay a fine due to doping.
When Sapp did not have a job, he took desperate measures and became an employee of a funeral parlor for a while, digging graves and carrying coffins. But in the 2000s, the former American football player decided to return his uniform and went to the gym where they taught kickboxing, as well as other types of combat sports.
Sport
In 2001, Bob improved his fighting skills and signed a contract to participate in the World Championship Wrestling, and then moved to the NWA Wildside in Georgia and was nicknamed The Beast, because he acted as the hero of the movie Tarzan.
When the tournament was closed, Sapp went to Japan and made his debut in the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, which organized popular Pro Wrestling fights. The rookie became a member of chairman Antonio Inoki's army of fighters and participated in a series of successful matches, arousing genuine interest among his rivals. In mixed martial arts, Bob could defeat Yoshihisa Yamamoto and Kiyoshi Tamura, and he wrestled his kickboxing rival Ernesto Hoost twice.
In 2004, the athlete won the IWGP heavyweight championship, and then unexpectedly appeared at Hustle's Korakuen Hall event. During the exhibition performances, Bob aligned himself with the Generalissimo Takada's villainous Monster Army and showed the showman’s talent and fighting skills. However, he was defeated by Wataru Sakata, braking his winning streak.
At the same time, Sapp participated in K-1 competitions in Japan and repeatedly appeared at the World Grand Prix tournament. In 2005, he triumphed at the Final Elimination in Osaka and brilliantly fought with Musashi at the K-1 PREMIUM 2005 Dynamite!! However, his relations with the organization later went wrong, and the fighter signed a contract with Hustle, thanks to which he continued his career and reached the semi-finals of the DREAM Super Hulk Grand Prix tournament.
Until the end of the 2000s, Bob faced frankly weak athletes in the ring and, contrary to expectations, lost most of the matches. When journalists called Sapp "a punching bag," after losing to Russian Alexander Emelianenko, he said in an interview that the main thing in the battle was the spectacular performance.
Indeed, the fights with the participation of The Beast distinguished themselves with original choreography and charm, which he used on the set of the comedy The Longest Yard. Since then, the black athlete has included projects in his filmography every year, participating in the movies Conan the Barbarian, Remarkable Power, and Blood and Bone.
Competitions also remained an integral part of Sapp's life, but he no longer won resounding victories. Only in 2018, in the fight with the former sumo wrestler, Ōsunaarashi Kintarō, Bob defeated the opponent, gaining top position in the third round, and the press called it an uneventful fight.
Personal life
There is little information about the athlete’s personal life, and photos on social media do not make it clear whether he has a wife.
However, a dubious article appeared in the Japanese press, telling about an alleged girlfriend who had been abused for six years and required compensation.
Bob Sapp now
Nowadays, the professional fighter has disappeared from the public eye and does not disclose his plans for 2019 and 2020. But the press reports that he has a valid contract with the MMA organization, Rizin Fighting Federation, and the opportunity to compete in the Rizin 19 and Rizin 20 competitions, which will be held in Japan at the Saitama Super Arena and Osaka-jo Hall.
Bob Sapp has a net worth of $3 million.
Awards and achievements
- 2002 –K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Quarterfinals
- 2004 – IWGP Heavyweight Championship
- 2005 – Hiroshima Grand Prix 2005 final
- 2009 – DREAM Super Hulk Grand Prix Semi-final
Filmography
- 2004 – Devilman
- 2005 – The Longest Yard
- 2005 – Elektra
- 2007 – Big Stan
- 2008 – Remarkable Power
- 2009 – Blood and Bone
- 2009 – Frankenhood
- 2011 – Conan the Barbarian
