How good is Bob Sapp?! [Archive] - Kung Fu Magazine Forums

Yum Cha

05-04-2006, 10:22 PM

A friend just showed me some highlights of Bob Sapp from Japanese K1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaKjk43BJxc&search=pride%20k1

All you fans, just how good is he, like could Royce choke him out??

Hard Fists

05-05-2006, 04:40 AM

Um....ouch.

David Jamieson

05-05-2006, 05:18 AM

He's big, he's a brawler.

Does that make him "good"?

sure, until he get's beaten that is then it's to the back of the line for Bob.

GreenCloudCLF

05-05-2006, 05:22 AM

Who cares how good he is....Bob Sapp is some big mofo!

Did you see the biography on how strong he is....it was called Elektra.

Edited for typo.

BruceSteveRoy

05-05-2006, 06:29 AM

I have never seen him before this video and quite frankly i might not sleep well tonight. He scares me.

Watching this clip i have to say one thing. He reminds me of Adam Sandler's character Bobby Boucher from "The Waterboy." Maybe something is wrong with his medulla oblongata.

Eddie

05-05-2006, 07:58 AM

brawler or not, he has somehting allot of martial artists dont have - a good offence. the dude sure isnt scared of attacking. he also dont stop, and seem to be pretty tuff.
more than what allot of other fighters out there can say.
not the cleanest fighter I've seen, but I would not want to be on the other side of the ring. :cool:

hjt

05-05-2006, 08:01 AM

yes bob sapp is a big guy, a monster to be exact

but hes not a skilled fighter, he can beat people down, but when it comes to skilled fighters he has no chance, fighters he has lost to tko or submission cro cop (broken orbital bone), nog (armbar), fujita (stoppage, GnP), hoost (well hoost lost but he was beating and couldnt continue)

bob sapp is just a gimmick fighter nothing else

Sekabin

05-05-2006, 08:11 AM

He seems to be seen as a novelty in Japan (but then, many foreigners are! :D), but clearly he's not a great trained fighter. He gases way to quickly. If the ring wasn't there, all his opponents would need to do was run around until he's too tired of chasing them. :p

Ray Pina

05-05-2006, 08:16 AM

Wouldn't want to fight him, but I wouldn't want to study under him either.

Pork Chop

05-05-2006, 03:52 PM

Actually seems like he's slowly starting to get a little more skilled. I think he may have turned the corner from "exfootball player who fights" to "fighter who used to play football". I do think he's got an unnatural advantage, which will keep me from ever really rooting for him; but I do give him credit for finally making some progress. It's sad that it's taken this long too, considering he's been able to train with Bas, Oyama, Mo Smith, and all the other greats.

fiercest tiger

05-05-2006, 05:27 PM

Bob Sapp is huge in japan MMA, what about the arm bar from the big fella?! hahaha thats what im talking about!

I think i read that he is also learning boxing skills too, imagine his hands like a true boxer, FORGETABOUT IT!

Yum Cha,

I dont think your bak mei Ging will effect that man, what do you say?

Maybe place a friggin landmine when he walks out you can take him.

jethro

05-05-2006, 06:15 PM

i saw this guy in an odd movie called Izo. I was scared of him then but I had no idea:eek:

Mr Punch

05-05-2006, 09:15 PM

He's this (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8765172168196861991&pl=true) good.

He's getting better though. Now he can make it into the second round without gassing sometimes. It's academic really, he'll be dead within 10 years.

Yum Cha

05-06-2006, 04:20 AM

FT, forget the Pak Mei ging, friggen 45 cal ging wouldn't stop him!

I figured he'd been beaten before, he's obviously not highly technical, I just wanted to know who, how and how many times.

I wonder if he gives Chuck Norris bad dreams? LOL.

Edit:
Thanks for the vid link Mat, Chuck and I will sleep better at night. Well, maybe Chuck...

SanShou Guru

05-06-2006, 04:21 AM

Here is the Cro-cop beating he took. I have never seen a fighter that big that cannot take a body shot. Hoost Dropped him a bunch of times before the "MUNGO SMASH!" Sapp style won out. Hoost was fine and after Sapp couldn't continue due to a broken hand and not really being able to walk after 500 leg kicks Hoost went on to win the K-1 again.

Cro-Cop/Sapp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNMgevrH8EI&search=cro%20cop

Hoost/Sapp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txkCFfLpBig&search=hoost%20sapp

fiercest tiger

05-06-2006, 01:14 PM

I definetly think Sapp has grown not just in size but in fitness and technique, imagine if gets mount?

lol Yummy, you wanna have armour piercing p/eyes bro.

Mr Punch

05-06-2006, 06:51 PM

Here is the Cro-cop beating he took. I have never seen a fighter that big that cannot take a body shot. I don't think he's any good, but to be fair, the shot that actually stopped him was the overhand left that broke his orbital after the mid-level kick. The kick just opened him up. I guess the contorted body hugging position he adopted was due to being in a world of pain and not particularly specific to the shot in the heat of the moment, so it still looks as though it was the body shot that caused the problem.

If you look at that fight, the more pertinent factor is that Sapp is already gassed and looks relieved when Mirko takes the nut shot.

Merryprankster

05-07-2006, 08:00 AM

David Jamieson

05-07-2006, 09:03 AM

size and strength matters, but bob also shows us that skill and ability counts too.

top fighters can defeat him even when they are not as big and maybe not as strong because they have superior skill and ability.

so, by that equation we can surmise that size and strength count when you're dealing with someone who has no skill and ability.

dwid

05-07-2006, 11:58 AM

so, by that equation we can surmise that size and strength count when you're dealing with someone who has no skill and ability.

Size and strength always count. Looking at the Hoost fight, I think, illustrates what an advantage size and strength are. They allow Sapp to make a lot of mistakes and still win, while his opponent cannot afford to do the same. Fighting a monster like that, you will pay dearly for every mistake you make.

jethro

05-07-2006, 02:02 PM

I am still trying to thinkof this guys name I saw on cheap seats, the espn classic show. It was a world kickboxing championship and am thinking now his name might have been bull?? But if you can imagine a shorter bob sapp, then you can picture the guy I am thinking of. He was fighting a guy who was around 6 foot 5 and kicked bull? about 1000 timews or so in a fight that had to last at least 10 rounds. Somebody has to remember, becasue he is almost as big as sapp, just a lot shorter, and unlike sapp, he can take a punch, not just that, but I don't think he has ever been phazed by one.

But if sapp can strengthen his body and learn to take at least some punches, he could seriously be unstoppable.

tug

05-07-2006, 07:00 PM

The thing for me here is that his facial expressions of intensity look like affectations, not as if he actually has that certain intensity, just wants you to think he does.

Either way, I agree, I don't want him anywhere near me.

Someone mentioned earlier a Kimbo/Sapp fight. I for one would love to see that.

Sorry Bob, my money's on Kimbo.

Shaolinlueb

05-07-2006, 07:39 PM

sapp when he first started, no skill, used his size to go out and pummell people. when he starts taking hits he turns and ducks and gives his bakc. but i hear he is training and slowly getting better.

jethro

05-07-2006, 08:22 PM

I have to agree. he just doesn't have that killer instinct. He honestly seems like a teddy bear even with how crazy he talks and how bad of a sport he is in the ring.

Ray Pina

05-08-2006, 08:47 AM

Sapp isn't all that good, but he demonstrates something terribly important to a lot of people who seem desperate to avoid it:

Size and strength matter.

Yeah, he's had some big losses - against TOP fighters.

He's definitely a freak show, no doubt about it. But size and strength matter.

I agree with you, but this is why I said I wouldn't want to learn from him and why I place conditioning last after refining yourself to have good material (structure) and technique (leverage).

No matter how much I condition can I be as strong as him? As tall as him? As heavy as him?

If I am to fight him I have to find a way to match his arm power ... I would start by training my foot power; and I don't mean kicking.

Merryprankster

05-08-2006, 08:55 AM

so, by that equation we can surmise that size and strength count when you're dealing with someone who has no skill and ability.

No. We can surmise that somebody with SUFFICIENT skill can negate or reduce the size and strength advantage.

Nice try though :D

Think about it. Bob's running around at the top level with barely anything we'd call skill. He's trading only on size and strength, and that alone makes him competitive. Not good, not great, but competitive.

David Jamieson

05-08-2006, 09:52 AM

I predict Bob will eventually be chocked unconcious by a skinny 175 pound brazillian kid who is hungry.

lol

I also agree Kimbo the jail fighter would absolutely and positively kill Bob.

After watching a few clips...all I can say is "wow" that is incredibly poor technique.

Now if Bob can recognize he needs to train more and gets that training, he will likely prove to be even more dangerous eventually.

But if all he's got to ride on is being big, then beware that brazillian kid i mentioned earlier, he's coming. lol

Ray Pina

05-08-2006, 10:21 AM

. Bob's running around at the top level with barely anything we'd call skill. He's trading only on size and strength, and that alone makes him competitive. Not good, not great, but competitive.

I agree with you 100%, but as martial artists we shouldn't emulate it. Usually, you have to worry about the bigger guy messing with you. Perhaps, right now, Bob Sapp is the biggest guy .... but how long can he lay claim to that?

Who is the strongest? The fastest? The youngest best cardio conditioned? Whoever they are they're getting older. They can't keep it forever.

Right now, I don't call what Sapp is doing martial art. I call it agression and physical dominance over smaller men.

hjt

05-08-2006, 12:10 PM

I agree with you 100%, but as martial artists we shouldn't emulate it. Usually, you have to worry about the bigger guy messing with you. Perhaps, right now, Bob Sapp is the biggest guy .... but how long can he lay claim to that?

Who is the strongest? The fastest? The youngest best cardio conditioned? Whoever they are they're getting older. They can't keep it forever.

Right now, I don't call what Sapp is doing martial art. I call it agression and physical dominance over smaller men.

Fedor Emelianenko, he is one of the strongest, fastest, well rounded and best conditioned fighter, and he is only 30 years old , he has like 10 years ahead of him.

he has beaten the top fighters in a convincing fashion, not many fighters can say that or have done that.

hjt

05-08-2006, 12:13 PM

No. We can surmise that somebody with SUFFICIENT skill can negate or reduce the size and strength advantage.

Nice try though :D

Think about it. Bob's running around at the top level with barely anything we'd call skill. He's trading only on size and strength, and that alone makes him competitive. Not good, not great, but competitive.

the reason he is running around in a top level organization, is because the japanese love freaks of nature. he is a good fighter no, does he beat the weaker, less skilled fighter always, but has it been proven when he fights skilled strong fighters he is no match for them.

he doesnt even deserve to be put in the ring with top fighters.

tug

05-08-2006, 06:34 PM

I have to agree. he just doesn't have that killer instinct. He honestly seems like a teddy bear even with how crazy he talks and how bad of a sport he is in the ring.

lol :D

I just realized that he is probably too big to be a submission fighter. Not only does he not appear to have the stamina, but he's so big, I'll wager he can't even wrap his own arms around himself.

Then again, his opponent might have a difficult time submitting him because of the same.

Just thinking out loud.

TuG

FatherDog

05-09-2006, 08:51 AM

A fight is like a set of scales. The old kind, where you have two platforms balanced, and you put something on one, and then add weights to the other till they balance.

Each side has a weight for size, a weight for strength, a weight for skill, a weight for speed, a weight for endurance, a weight for luck, etc, etc.

Just because his strength weight is much bigger than yours doesn't mean he'll automatically win. But if his strength weight is twice the weight of yours, some of the other weights on your side had better be bigger than his to balance it out. Because if your skill, speed, and endurance weights are the same as his, and his strength weight is bigger... well, unless your luck weight turns out to be very heavy this time, you're going to lose.

You can't depend on just one weight, you have to try to make all your weights as heavy as possible. Train skill, AND train strength, AND train endurance. All of them matter.