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COLUMN: Black History Month - The phenomenon known at Bob Sapp, larger than life and hugely popular
Feb 24, 2010 - 6:31:56 PM COLUMN: Black History Month - The phenomenon known at Bob Sapp, larger than life and hugely popular

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By Anwar Perez, MMATorch Columnist

This is part three of a month-long series of articles during Black History Month

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If you were to ask an MMA fan from Japan who their favorite fighter was, it shouldn’t surprise you that it would likely be Bob Sapp. Sapp is certainly not Japanese, having played football in the United States both in college and as a pro. He stands at 6ft 4in and is bigger than most Japanese men and he’s been a pro-wrestler, a K-1 fighter and an MMA legend in Japan.

Sapp’s record in MMA or K-1 for that matter isn’t the stuff of legends, nor is his skill. For Sapp, he was always a giant man in a foreign country. Fans loved him because of his size and aggressive fighting style. He didn’t have any skill by any means, just that he could come at you like a bull and crush you if you weren’t ready. He has fought some of the toughest fighters in the sport, such as Mirko Cro-Cop in a losing effort in K-1 and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a war that saw Sapp take the former Pride/UFC champ to his limits. He’s fought for most every major organization outside of the UFC fighting legends (Cro-Cop, Nogueira) and up-and-comers (Bobby Lashley, Sokoudjou). His fighting is always his strong suit, but it’s what he was able to do and generate outside of the ring that made him a true legend.

Sapp appeared in almost every kind of ad in Japan, parlaying his success in the ring into movie roles, both here and abroad. He had plenty of media coverage on ESPN due to this rise and stature in Japan and his offers for fights against Mike Tyson.

Most of what people have seen of Bob Sapp is that of a man that is just larger than life. In a country such as Japan, many people are simply amazed at a man that is just so big and, at the same time, came across as gentle in interviews and within the press.

Not only did he become a legend, he became a legend in a country that he is not even a native of, one in which he has not national ties. Whereas in the United States Bob Sapp was known as a boxer type of fellow who you would sometimes hear about on ESPN, and falsely known as fellow football player Warren Sapp’s brother, in Japan he was much different. Everyone knew who Sapp was, and even though he wasn’t the best fighter or the most skilled, he was always still the highlight of the show for most because of his larger than life attitude and also because he was just this anomaly that Japanese people paid to see.

To say that Bob Sapp is a pioneer is something of a misnomer. There are plenty of other African-American fighters or personalities in MMA that could be argued as being more of a pioneer or figure head for the sport, but none had the popularity and the charisma of a Bob Sapp to totally transcend an entire country, let alone an entire culture. That is why he is a pioneer.

[Photo credit Toshi]