I woke up this morning to some super surprising news. It turns out that Bob Sapp lost another fight last night (August 8, 2013) in Fortaleza, Brazil, this time to Edson Franca at OX MMA by submission. I know, I know. You're shocked as well. It's his twelfth straight loss, dropping his professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) record to an abysmal 11-18-1.
Now, for legal purposes, I can't outright claim that Bob Sapp is throwing these fights. He's most definitely not phoning it in, nor is he working with the promoters that continue to pay him to put on his amazing, totally not half-assed effort, in the cage. No sir. Bob Sapp is a man of integrity and wouldn't ever do that.
Sapp has fought just three times in 2013, including a knockout loss to Taizan at IGF Genome 24 in kickboxing and a TKO loss to Aleksander Emelianenko at Legend Fighting Show in Moscow. In those two previous bouts, his total in-ring time comes in just shy of three minutes.
A decade ago, Sapp showed great promise in combat sports. He more than held his own against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at Pride Shockwave in 2002 before submitting to an armbar in the second round. Before getting caught, Sapp was on his way to a victory, scoring big with a pile driver that had the Japanese fans on their feet.
He found equal success in K-1, defeating Ernesto Hoost, considered one of the best kick boxers of all time, twice by TKO. Those wins turned him into a certifiable star in Japan.
But today? Today, Bob Sapp is making a mockery of both sports. Since the beginning of 2012, Sapp is a combined 1-11 in both sports. His sole win in that time against Tofan Pirani at DIBC 2012 in Dubai, was likely a fluke as the bout ended because of an injury.
Outside of that win, Sapp has found a way to lose within the first two minutes of a fight an astonishing 10 times. His loss to Jong Dae Kim at Road FC 8 in 2012 is the rare exception which went into the second round before ending by TKO.
Sapp is paid relatively well as he still is a household name around the world and for some reason is still a draw. Fans flock to arenas to watch him perform his act. And as long as fans keep wanting to see him lose, he's going to keep doing his thing.
And don't get me wrong. Sapp isn't the only one to blame in this equation. Sure, he's not really putting in the honest effort to win, but those that continue to book him know exactly what they're doing. They know that Bob Sapp will rush across the ring or cage, throw several punches before ending up on his back. And then from there, will tap out to either strikes or a submission.
Heck, sometimes he'll even fake a leg injury to get out of the cage without taking any damage. Yes, he did that at Super Fight League (SFL) 1 against James Thompson. He claimed a leg injury then walked out of the cage. Submission via charlie horse.
Again, I'm not making any claims that he's throwing fights, because I don't want to get sued, but he's definitely not trying. At this point, I don't think it's even fair to call Bob Sapp a "fighter" as it does a disservice to everyone else who puts in a real effort to win. But Bob will keep being Bob. Because someone is willing to pay.
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