Charming and charismatic fighter Bob Sapp, whose height has reached 195 cm and weighs 159 kg, is a professional in mixed martial arts, actor and former American football player. By the will of his fate sports biography turned out to be connected with Japan, where after a contract with well-known promotions, including K-1 and Rizin Fighting Federation, the athlete became a completely successful showman, now performing in the Pro category.

Childhood and youth

Robert Malcolm Sapp, later nicknamed the Beast, was born on September 22, 1974 in Colorado Springs and, having spent his childhood in the sports capital of America, fell in love with football from a young age. He first played for the Mitchell High School Junior League, and then received a scholarship and continued his career in Washington State.

Embed from Getty Images Fighter Bob Sapp

There, a young man won an annual award the best players student conference, and in 1997 put forward his own candidacy for the NFL draft. At number 69, Bob was selected by the Chicago Bears. For unknown reasons, he signed with the Minnesota Vikings, but was fired due to doping and forced to pay a fine.

Left unemployed, Sapp took desperate measures and worked briefly as a funeral home clerk, digging graves and carrying coffins, but in the 2000s former football player decided to get back in shape and went to the gym where they taught kickboxing, as well as other types of contact wrestling.

Sport

In 2001, Bob acquired the qualities necessary for a fighter and signed a contract to participate in World Championship Wrestling, and then moved to a competition site called NWA Wildside in Georgia and received the nickname The Beast because he acted like a movie character.

After the close of the tournament, Sapp left for Japan and made his debut in the New Japan Wrestling promotion, which had the status of a popular competition and organized Pro category fights. Playing for a team of athletes led by wrestler Antonio Inoki, the newcomer had a series of successful matches and aroused genuine interest among rivals. In mixed martial arts, Bob was able to withstand Yoshihisa Yamamoto and Kiyoshi Tamura, and in kickboxing he defeated an athlete named Ernesto Host twice.

In 2004, the athlete won the IWGP championship in heavyweight champion, and then, unexpectedly for many, appeared at the Korakuen Hall Hustle event. IN demonstration performances Bob, as part of the "Villainous Army of Monsters of Generalissimo Takada", demonstrated the talent of a showman and the skill of a fighter, but was defeated by Wataru Sakata and could not bring winning streak to end.

Alexander Emelianenko and Bob Sapp

In parallel, Sapp participated in K-1 competitions in Japan and made numerous appearances at the world Grand Prix draws. In 2005, he won the Final Elimination in Osaka and had a brilliant fight against Musashi at K-1 PREMIUM 2005 Dynamite!! And then relations with the organization went wrong, and the fighter signed a contract with Hustle, thanks to which he continued his career and reached the semifinals of the DREAM Super Hulk Grand Prix tournament.

Until the end of the 2000s, Bob entered the ring against frankly weak athletes and, contrary to expectations, lost most of the matches. And when, after losing to the Russian, the journalists called Sapp a "punching bag", he said in an interview that the main thing in the battle is the spectacular side.

Indeed, the fights with the participation of the Beast were distinguished by a certain choreography and charm, which were useful to him on the set of the comedy "All or Nothing", and from that moment on, the black athlete annually replenished his own filmography, participating in the films "Conan the Barbarian", "Amazing Power" and "Blood and Bone".

Competition also remained an integral part of Sapp's life, but he no longer won high-profile victories. Only in 2018, in a duel with the former sumo wrestler Osunaarashi Kintaro, Bob defeated the opponent with a “look” in the 3rd round, and the press called the “circus” the way the athlete won.

Personal life

Almost nothing is known about the athlete's personal life, and photos in in social networks do not answer the question if he has a wife.

Bob Sapp is a popular American kickboxer, actor, known for his roles in the films All or Nothing, Big Stan, Blood and Bone, Frankenhood, Conan the Barbarian, and others.

The main films of the actor Bob Sapp

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  short biography

  Robert Malcolm Sapp was born on September 22, 1974 in Colorado Springs, USA. sports career Bob took up at school when he began to get involved in football. Growing up, he began to participate in tournaments. After being accused of steroid use, Sapp retired from the sport for a while and took a job at a funeral home moving coffins.

  Subsequently, the athlete quickly restored excellent shape. He fought his first mixed martial arts fight in Japan on April 28, 2002 at the age of 27, defeating local celebrity Yoshihisa Yamamoto. The large black American liked the Japanese public, and they began to invite him to speak in the largest organizations. In the same year, Bob Sapp made his debut in kickboxing. For the shown rage, aggressiveness and desire to finish off the enemy, he was dubbed the Beast. In just four months, he achieved the status of one of the best kickboxers in the world: in August 2002, Sapp almost defeated Brazilian champion António Rodrigo Nogueira, the strongest fighter in mixed martial arts. The daring newcomer impressed the audience. Subsequently, Bob the Beast experienced both success and failure, but one thing could not be taken away from him - mass popularity. Bob was especially loved by Japanese fans: the powerful, charismatic black man became an idol for millions of viewers. It is not surprising that invitations to act in films and commercials rained down on him.

  In 2002, Bob made his debut in the Japanese TV series You're Under Arrest with a small, inconspicuous role. A couple of years later, he appeared in the Japanese science fiction films Iso (2004) and Demon Man (2004). In 2005, Bob was invited by American producers to appear in the film Elektra, the plot of which is based on a series of comics about the adventures of the Greek assassin Elektra Nachios. The heroine receives the task to remove the "client" and his daughter, but becomes a friend of the alleged victim and together with him confronts the customers - ninja warriors from a secret order. In the ambitious Hollywood film, Bob appeared as a character nicknamed Stone, who has superhuman strength, impenetrability and bulletproofness. In the same year, the athlete participated in another successful Hollywood project - the comedy "All or Nothing" (2005) with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock in the lead roles. Two years later, he appeared in Rob Schneider's comedy Big Stan (2007) as another cameo character Big Raymond, and then starred in Amazing Power (2008) as Teeny.

  The athlete always finds time for filming - almost every year one film with his participation is released: "Player 5150" (2008), "Blood and Bone" (2009), "Frankenhood" (2009), "Conan the Barbarian" (2011) . “My schedule is so packed. You can see how I lose or how bad I look in the ring, but if you look at my schedule, you will say that this is just crazy. With such a schedule, no one could fight, ”says the athlete-actor. On May 25, 2013, Bob Sapp participated in the Moscow fight show "Legend", where he was defeated by rival Alexander Emelianenko in 1 minute 19 seconds. Bob does not hide the fact that the main thing for him, both in the cinema and in the ring, is to show the show to the public. “People pay if they love me or if they hate me, and I make a living doing this,” Sapp admits. “Even if you are constantly knocked out, the promoters still want to put you in their tournament so that you get knocked out at their place and give people a spectacle ... He knows that at least something interesting will happen in the ring.” .

In every martial art there is a fighter who "sells tickets". In K-1, that character is Bob Sapp. Animal, as they call it. The dark-skinned Goliath is 195 cm tall and weighs over 150 kg. Sapp's fights are reminiscent of a bullfight, where he himself plays the role of a bull. True, unlike a bull, Bob always feels when it is necessary to stop "shoveling" on the enemy and exits the battle with minimal losses for himself. How he does it? Yes, in any way: he may not get up after a relatively light blow, or even disappear altogether just before the start of the duel. Sap's unsportsmanlike behavior goes against the phenomenal popularity of this charismatic big man. The dimensions of the American and the artistry with which he pretends to be an animal more than compensate for shortcomings in technique and inadequate behavior in the ring. So far, Bob has starred in 23 commercials, given over 1000 interviews, written 4 books and even released a music CD called "It is Sapp Time"!

Robert Malcolm Sapp was born on September 22, 1974 in Colorado. At first, he was fascinated by American football. In 1997, Bob signed a four-year contract with the NFL's Chicago Bears. However, play professional level the future "The Beast" never did. They did not renew the contract with Bob. He left football and worked for a while at a funeral parlour, until a chance brought him into martial arts.

The unfortunate football player began his fighting career in one of the largest wrestling federations (WWE), but due to chronic heart problems, he had to say goodbye to his career as a wrestler. In April 2002, Sapp made his MMA debut. The first fight, and right away at the PRIDE 20 tournament, Sapp had against the strong Japanese Yoshihisa Yamamoto. The victory inspired the American.

Soon he made his debut in K-1, but unsuccessfully. Physically, Sapp crushed his opponent Tsuyoshi Nakasako, but, carried away (one must justify the nickname "animal"), he began to beat the poor Japanese with his elbows on the back of the head, which is strictly prohibited by the rules of K-1. Bob was disqualified.

Sapp was forced to return to PRIDE. He had two fights: in the first, in 11 seconds, he knocked out the experienced Kiyoshi Tamura, and in the second, he lost by submission to one of the best fighters PRIDE Brazilian Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, nicknamed "Minotaur" (Minotauro). After this incident, Bob decided to finally "tie up" with PRIDE and resumed his performances in K-1.

After "The Beast" dealt with French kickboxer Cyril Abidi in minutes, K-1 promoters felt it was time for the real test. Sappa is probably associated with the most strong fighter K-1 of that time by "Mr. Perfection" by Ernesto Hoost. Both the fans and the bosses of K-1 had no doubts about the victory of skill over brute force, but the unexpected happened: the experienced Khust could not oppose anything to the brutal bulk of Sapa. The fight was stopped already in the first round.

Two months later, the fighters met in the final eight of 2002: and Sapp won again! True, at the beginning of the battle, Bob himself was in a heavy knockdown from a blow to the liver with his hand, and only the gong helped him survive. The rather shabby Sapp did not come out for the next fight. He was replaced by Khust, who won the G8. Since sports career Bob "The Beast" Sappa went into decline. But his popularity did not suffer from this. The image of the "animal", on the contrary, earned in full force. He became an invariable character in commercials and a participant in television shows.

IN sports plan failures alternated with relative successes. In 2003, Croatian Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic sends not the most with a strong blow Bob in a knockout (which Sapp, according to many, feigned). Then, after several passing fights, "The Beast" goes to the "Flying Dutchman" Remy Bonjasky (Remy Bonjasky) and for the second time in his career receives a disqualification for hitting an opponent lying on the ground. At this time, rumors began to appear about the invitation to K-1 of Mike Tyson himself. One of the possible rivals for "Iron Mike" was called Sappa. They even played a special performance for the audience: during one of the fights, the "animal" suddenly attacked Tyson, who was in the hall, and supposedly only the security service was able to prevent the fight. In December 2003, K-1 bosses brought Sapp with Yokozuna (Yokozuna - the highest rank in sumo) Akebono (Akebono), who, by the way, was the first non-Japanese to be awarded this title. The duel caused great excitement, because the total weight of the athletes was approaching 400 kg! The fight did not work out - the sumo wrestler was sent to a deep knockout in the first round.

In 2004, Bob lost in K-1 MMA-ROMANEX mixed rules to Japanese wrestler Kazuyuki Fujita, and then by knockout to New Zealander Ray Sefo. December 31st only New Year's tournament K-1 Bob Sapp drew a duel with Jerome Le Banner (J?r?me Le Banner) according to somewhat strange rules: two rounds of kickboxing, and two MMA. As expected, Le Banner had the advantage in punching technique, and the huge Sapp in wrestling. By the way, before the fight, "The Animal" ate the doll of his opponent in front of the viewers. Perhaps the intimidation technique worked?

In 2005, Sapp fought six fights, winning four (two by knockout) and losing two against Korean giant Hong-Man Choi and Japanese fan favorite Musashi. In 2006, Bob did not enter the ring, although he should have. What happened? At the last moment, he simply ran away from the Amsterdam Arena building, and instead of him, so that the fight would not break, Peter Aerts (!) came out of the hall (!)! An inglorious end to a career? No. Most recently (June 23, 2007), Sapp reappeared in the ring. Appeared, which is typical, in Amsterdam, in a battle against Aerts. His return did not become triumphant: in the very first seconds, Bob missed his knee on the body and fell. The judge counted to ten, the American continued to lie on the floor of the ring. "Fight surrendered!" - once again judged the audience.

Will Sapp continue his career as a fighter? Unknown. One way or another, he manages to maintain interest in his person, mercilessly exploiting the image of an "animal" ready to tear and eat his opponent, though not in the ring, but in front of a television camera. Be that as it may, the appearance of Bob in the ring, if it happens, will be greeted with enthusiasm by the audience. He "sells tickets". It has always been, and probably will continue to be...

P.S. Recently Bob was mentioned again. On July 5, on his website, Peter Aerts called Bob Sapp a malingerer, stating that the knee Sap missed was not strong enough to bring down the 150 kg fighter. Apparently, the “animal” decided to save his health for fights with weaker opponents.

Date: 2011-07-14

Name:(Robert Malcolm Sapp)

Nickname in the ring: "The Beast"

Birthplace: Colorado, USA

Height: 195 cm.

Weight: 170 kg.

Style: boxing, wrestling

Club: Team Beast

MMA record (14 fights, 10 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw)

Kickboxing record (17 fights, 10 wins, 7 losses)

He was born on September 22, 1974 in Colorado Springs. In college, Sapp became interested in American football, he played as a defenseman for the Washington Huskies. Soon he was drafted by the Chicago Bears team, but he could not fully realize himself as a professional football player. Bob left football with a scandal, he was caught using steroids. Not having received the money due to him under the contract, Sapp was forced to earn extra money on the side in order to somehow make ends meet.

Bob Sappa's physique and past sports connections helped him get a new job. He signed an agreement with the pro-wrestling organization WCW. The audience fell in love with Bob, he knew how to work for the public, fell into a rage, made terrible faces, tore up posters depicting opponents. Some time later, Sappa was offered to participate in fights without rules. In April 2002, at the PRIDE 20 tournament, Bob made his debut duel, in which he defeated the Japanese Yoshihisa Yamamoto. The Japanese public fell in love with the American giant from the first fight, Pride and K-1 managers rubbed their hands, anticipating huge profits, and he himself realized that fighting without rules was his future.

In 2002 he will make his debut in K-1. In the first fight against Tsuyoshi Nakasako, Sapp was disqualified due to the use of prohibited techniques. But this incident only reinforced the legend of the "Beast". Bob Sappa's next opponent was the champion. Bob threw the Brazilian around the ring, the audience roared with delight, but in the end, Antonio's experience took over, he was able to catch the "Beast" on submission hold. IN next fight under K-1 rules, Bob Sappa faced one of the named . This time, Bob's bulk worked, the judges recorded the victory of the giant in the first round. Two months later, the rivals met again, and again Bob Sapp was stronger.

In 2004, he was at the peak of popularity, but due to the constant filming in various shows, he began to train less often, Sapp began to lose his potential as a fighter. Bob was a showman at heart and the public loved him for it. At one of the tournaments, he began to rush at, and only the guards prevented the fight. After his career as a fighter, he starred in several films and even released his own album.