For the past decade, the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) has fought tooth-and-nail to gain legitimacy and mainstream acceptance in the sportsworld alongside heavy hitters such as the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association NBA), among others.

Thanks in large part to the world's pre-eminent MMA promotion, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) which is spearheaded by the blood, sweat and tears of company president Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, MMA has broken barriers that once were thought to be impenetrable.

Major cable television deals and blue chip sponsors stepping up to the plate to have their product sponsored all over UFC events are just a few of the monumental victories the UFC and MMA have enjoyed over the last couple of years that have given MMA valid credentials in the sports world.

However, one man -- who at one time was considered a legit athlete -- is making a mockery of the sport that has fought endlessly to gain the respect it had so long desired and deserved. That man is none other than former K-1 kickboxer and PRIDE FC veteran, Bob Sapp.

At one time, Sapp was considered a legit fighter, with his Adonis-like body and uncanny strength, the 6' 5," 300-pound muscle-bound Sapp, I'm sure, caused his opponent to tremble at least a little bit at the anticipation of stepping into the ring with him.

Those days, however, are long gone.

Lately, Sapp has served more of a stepping stone, if you can call him that, or a real life punching bag for up-and-coming fighters who are looking to make a name for themselves in the sport. With his only offensive attack being a weak take down attempt that quickly leads to the turtle-up position followed by an instant tap or a referee stoppage, Sapp, is now but a mere one-man circus.

Appearing on the most recent episode of "The MMA Hour," "The Beast" attempted to dispel any rumors or claims that he is making a mockery of the sport of MMA by "throwing" fights. However, he didn't really do himself any favors with his responses excuses.

Check it out:

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Easy come, easy go.

Hard-hitting heavyweight striker Sergei Kharitonov injured his neck and was forced to withdraw from his upcoming mixed martial arts (MMA) fight against Tony Lopez at the "2012 Glory World Series" on May 26 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Golden Glory head coach Martijn de Jong recently confirmed the change on Twitter.

Kharitonov (18-5) was last seen disposing of Mark Miller under the United Glory banner earlier this year in Russia. It was a nice rebound win (under kickboxing rules) for the former paratrooper, who was bounced from the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix with a submission loss to Josh Barnett back in 2011.

Stepping in to take his place will be Swedish "Sledgehammer" Llir Latifi (5-2-1), who was previously booked to throw hands opposite Jeremy Horn until "Gumby" blew out his knee.

Lopez (31-8) has been on an absolute tear under the King of the Cage (KOTC) umbrella, winning seven straight fights and securing seven violent finishes in the process. Just over half of all wins for "Kryptonite" have come by submission.

The revised United Glory fight card and line-up (via Buddha Sport) after the jump:

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KSW 19: "Pudzianowski vs. Sapp" went down last night (Sat., May 12, 2012) at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland, and featured the latest in a long series of dives from disgraced mixed martial artist (if you can call him that), Bob Sapp.

This time he laid down for Marius Pudzianowski, who willingly unloaded as many punches as his oversized muscles could possibly deliver in the shortest amount of time he could deliver them. He even landed a takedown, though it looked like a grown man simply toying with a child.

A very large child.

Though this has become the norm when dealing with Sapp, it's beyond embarrassing that he continues to get fight bookings, even when the promoters may have done so simply because this was the result they desired.

Pudzianowski also deserves criticism for the manner in which he conducted himself immediately following the referee's orders to stop the bout. In short, he didn't listen and had to be physically pulled off Sapp, who spent almost the entire fight just covering up.

All in all, it was sad.

But they weren't the only two competing on the card. In fact, middleweight mauler Mamed Khalidov did his thing on the undercard, knocking out Rodney Wallace in the first round. Matt Horwich was also victorious, winning a majority decision over Jay Silva.

Complete KSW 19 results after the jump.

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Is Fedor Emelianenko pulling an Anderson Silva?

Back in early 2010, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight number one contender Chael Sonnen insisted "The Spider" could speak perfect English, despite his constant need for a translator.

According to Frank Trigg, so can "The Last Emperor."

"Twinkle Toes" elaborates to Rebellion MMA Radio (via Five Ounces of Pain) during a story about his Vodka-sharing exploits with the former PRIDE champion in a hotel bar:

"A lot of my stories are usually weird stuff from after parties that you really can’t talk about but going to Japan a lot you really learn about a lot of different people. You see Jake Shields over there all the time, you see Gilbert Melendez over there all the time and it’s just a weird situation when you’re in this foreign land with all of these Americans but the most interesting thing was drinking vodka with Fedor. [We] are sitting there in the hotel bar and we’re talking and we’re having a great time and all of a sudden I realize that this fool speaks English. I was like ‘Come on man, you’re really going to pull this?’ It’s not good English or clear English but you can definitely understand it enough to talk to him. He was just like ‘Nah, I don’t like doing it because I don’t feel comfortable on the microphone’ and we were just talking for five minutes in a straight English conversation without a translator. Then he goes ‘You know it's funny’ and I go ‘What’s that?’ and he says ‘The more you drink vodka, the better you think your Russian is.’ That was when I first started realizing how the world works."

Next up for Emelianenko is former UFC heavyweight hopeful Pedro Rizzo on June 21, 2012 at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the soft-spoken Soviet searches for his third straight victory on the International circuit.

Anyone think Fedor is trolling the fans? Or did Trigg drink so much Vodka that everything sounded like English?

In the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), there are many fighters all over the world who are talented, skilled and full of potential, yet, are not too well known to the mainstream media and your casual every day fan.

Such fighters are just waiting for an opportunity to shine and display their skills stateside, where MMA has exploded into the heart of mainstream outlets thanks in large part to the popularity the sport is enjoying at the moment, and is only increasing by the day.

Big time national television deals like the one Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) struck with the FOX network, as well as the Bellator and Spike TV partnership are just a few examples of just how far the reach of MMA has in today's mainstream exposure.

Fighters who are still fighting and clawing their way overseas to one day get the opportunity to strut their stuff on such huge platforms are plenty, and the Chechan-born fighter, Mamed Khalidov, is one of them. One the most talented international fighters they you may not have heard of, Khalidov is inching his way back to the states in hopes of one day earning a shot in the big leagues.

After the jump, we'll take a closer look at Mamed, and see why soon you may be hearing a lot more of this talented middleweight.

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Has Father Time caught up to Marcus Davis?

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight and Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 veteran was knocked out in brutal fashion by Mark Casserley at the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) "Worlds Collide" event on May 6, 2012 in Dublin, Ireland.

"The Irish Hand Grenade" apologizes to his fans via Facebook:

Sorry all.. I'm just not pulling the trigger like I did even 5 years ago. I have days in the gym where i cant be touched but days where I'm lethargic. Consistency is key to being a professional fighter. My reactions have slowed. I'm not going to make my decision now until I am with my family but this wouldn't have happened 10-5 years ago. Time I think has caught up with me. I will be with my wife tomorrow and we will discuss my career. From the bottom of my heart I thank everyone who has ever supported me... God bless

Prior to his loss overseas, Davis was 3-2 over his last five mixed martial arts (MMA) fights, having recently dropped a split decision loss to TUF veteran Chuck O'Neil at W-1 MMA 7: "Reloaded" last October in Florida.

See the lights go out at the 2:25 mark. Ouch.

Super Fight League (SFL) got back to business this past Sunday (May 6, 2012), featuring a headlining bout that saw former Strikeforce heavyweight attraction Bobby Lashley taking on British bruiser James Thompson at the IGI Stadium in New Delhi, India.

"Colossus" outlasted "The Dominator" via unanimous decision.

Surprisingly, these two goliaths put on a fairly entertaining fight, capping off this weekend's YouTube extravaganza that also included knockout wins for Trevor Prangley and Kultar Gill.

See the third and final round of "Lashley vs. Thompson" (via Iron Forges Iron) as well as full SFL 3 results, after the jump.

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No UFC ... no Strikeforce ... no problem!

Hard-hitting heavyweight striker Sergei Kharitonov is back in the mixed martial arts (MMA) spotlight, coming to terms with United Glory for an upcoming bout against the dangerous Tony Lopez at the "2012 Glory World Series" on May 26 in Stockholm, Sweden.

News of the pending match-up comes via the fine men and women at LiverKick.com.

Kharitonov (18-5) was last seen kicking the crap out of Mark Miller under the United Glory banner just last month in Russia. It was a nice rebound win (under kickboxing rules) for the former paratrooper, who was bounced from the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix with a submission loss to Josh Barnett back in 2011.

But things aren't getting any easier.

Lopez (31-8) has been on an absolute tear under the King of the Cage (KOTC) umbrella, winning seven straight fights and securing seven violent finishes in the process. Just over half of all wins for "Kryptonite" have come by way of tap, nap or snap.

Check out a video teaser for United Glory's "2012 Glory World Series" after the jump.

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