麻豆APP

Bob Sapp in 2011. Author Claus Michelfelder.

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Bob Sapp

Robert Malcolm Sapp or Bob Sapp is an American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, actor, and former American football player. He was nicknamed 鈥淭he Beast鈥� because of his beastly nature inside the ring and boasts of a fight record of 24wins, 39draws, and 1 loss. This is quite a remarkable achievement for the retired professional. He conquered most of his opponents while fighting his home matches in Japan. He holds the record of being the only African American to win the title of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

Apart from wrestling, martial arts, and acting, Sapp has also managed to overcome many struggles, from being jobless and broke to having a net worth of several million dollars.

A darling of the fans, he has over 400 products in his name and image, hundreds of TV commercials and shows, over 20 kickboxing matches, 20 MMA matches, and over 50 wrestling matches.

1. He Also Played Professional Football

A son of an African immigrant, Sapp was born on September 22, 1974, in Colorado Springs and was fond of American football since his childhood.  He started his journey toward professional football in high school. Further, he played for the Mitchell High School Junior League and later received a football scholarship to the University of Washington.

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2. He Is Endowed Physically

Bob Sapp. Author Claus Michelfelder. Wikimedia Commons

Thought to be physically endowed, the multi-talented American is a professional athlete who is blessed with a height of 6 feet and 4 inches. He weighs 159 kg (350.53) and is inevitably a super heavyweight fighter.

To maintain his large body physique, it is not surprising to learn that the former footballer does different workouts to maintain his body weight. He does a combination of heavy lifting with some endurance body weight exercises. Besides his body mass, he has dark brown eyes and black facial hair. However, he prefers keeping his hair precisely short or bald. He won the Morris Award in 1996 as a standout offensive lineman when he was a scholarship student at the University of Washington.

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3.  He Worked In A Funeral Home

Surprisingly, Sapp played only one game in the NFL before being cut off for alleged use of illegal drugs with dire consequences for the player. Unfortunately, the suspension led Sapp into poverty as his financial adviser defrauded him. The poverty caused the former football player to work in a funeral home, moving and carrying coffins. What a sad ending for the promising professional footballer.

4. The 鈥淏east鈥� In Him Started Manifesting Itself In 2001

The Beast. Author Uri Tours.

Bob鈥檚 professional wrestling career started in 2001 with the National Wrestling Alliance. Shortly after that, he was contacted by the World Championship Wrestling as a beginner. A vicious attacker, he started bringing out the 鈥淏east鈥� in him with a villainous version of Tarzan.

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5. His Wrestling Career Was Punctuated With Highs And Lows

His wrestling career was cut short after World Wrestling Federation bought the WCW. For a while, Sapp was out of the professional wrestling world and made his debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling (2002鈥�2005). Being a person who never gives up easily, Beast was introduced as one of Antonio Inoki鈥檚 fighters. On October 14, in Japan-based K-1 kickboxing promotion, Sapp replaced an injured player, Yoshihiro Takayama, and won the fight against Manabu Nakanishi.

Apart from Takayama, The Beast defeated other top-level fighters like Ernesto Hoost and Akebono. This victory resulted in other wrestlers wanting to fight against Sapp, but the American wrestler passed upon the participation. Yet, he could not get to the top ranks because of his particular fighting style, which relied mostly on his gigantic build and weight.

Additionally, on March 28, 2004, Bob Sapp won the title of IWGP Heavyweight Championship after winning against Kensuke Sasaki and became the first and only African-American to have gotten that title. Bob won against Giant Bernard and Jun Akiyama in Wrestle 鈥� 1 Grand Prix and made his way to the finals. However, before he could enter the tournament, it was discontinued.

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 6. He Was A Recipient Of The WWA Heavyweight Title

Bob Sapp. Author CM.

The gigantic fighter defeated Razor Ramon RG in his debut match for Hustle鈥檚 Korakuen Event on October 16, 2007. This win made him to qualify to fight at the Hustle mania Yokohama Arena event, which Bob won.

Later, Sapp was enjoined in a tag team with another superheavyweight Monster Bono. However, due to some miscommunication, there was a conflict between Sapp and Bono. In 2008, Sapp was defeated by his opponents in the Hustle Grand Prix and made his last appearance for Hustle, defeated by Bono in a rematch. Similarly, in the same year, Sapp participated in WWA in South Korea, and on October 26, 2009, he received the WWA Heavyweight title.

Strangely, in a comedy wrestling match, Sapp was defeated by a wrestler who plays a homosexual character, Danshoku Dino, with a kiss after being pinned down.

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7. Bob Sapp, the Tomato Can?

In wrestling, a 鈥渢omato can鈥� is an easy target with minimum fighting skills. He was beginning to be labeled as the tomato because of how he fought inside the ring. He would often fight against upcoming stars and local fighters only to be defeated in a matter of seconds. His tomato can act led to the loss of his reputation in sports.

In an interview when Sapp was asked why he chose defeat over victory, he explained that he would not willingly get himself injured for small paychecks, 鈥淭hey say fight business, and I am in the business of making money. How do I judge whether I have a successful fight? Success is judged by the measure of improvement. The measure of improvement in a business is money.鈥� (Said by Bob Sapp)鈥�

8. Bob Sapp Also Had A Stint At Kick Boxing and MMA

In 2002, after being released from WCW, Sapp was called by FX for its amateur boxing show, The Toughman Competition. Surprisingly, the professional wrestler won the fight against Perry in the second round without having any boxing experience.

Bob was invited back to Japan by the chairman of Japanese kickboxing promotion K-1, Kazuyoshi Ishii, to start another career. Ishii had seen a video of Sapp鈥檚 match via a mutual friend, Sam Greco, Bob Sapp鈥檚 trainer. Sapp finished his initial training of six months in the United States of America, after which he competed under both rule sets indistinctly or the rest of his career.

9. He Bounced Back From Retirement To Win Matches

Bob Sapp. Author Andrew Quentin.

Sapp announced in April 2014 that he would retire from his fighting career in a surprising turn of events. But after a two-year break, Sapp appeared at Fight Night on August 4, 2017, in Saint Tropez, France. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, he lost the match to Greg Tony in the first round. On December 31, 2015, He had a rematch against Akebono at the Rizin Fighting Federation event. Luckily this time he won the match by technical decision, unlike his other games.

Similarly, in September 2018, Bob fought against a former sumo wrestler, Osunaarashi, and was taken down in the first round. However, Sapp unexpectedly defeated the former sumo in the second round by a unanimous decision, making his first MMA win in nine years.

10. Bob Sapp Tried A Career In Acting

Movie equipment. Photo by Denise Jans on

Besides his athletic career, Bob Sapp has appeared in several movies alongside renowned actors such as Jason Momoa, Tracy Morgan, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, and many more.

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