And you thought Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie 3 was a sideshow.
The same promoters who will bring MMA fans the return of heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko at the end of this year will, during the same event, bring fans one of the strangest possible rematches in MMA: Bob Sapp vs. Akebono Taro.
The match, which was announced in Japan late Friday and subsequently reported stateside by Dave Meltzer of MMA Fighting Saturday night, will evidently be part of an end-of-year MMA extravaganza created by Rizin Fighting Federation, a new promotion headed by Bellator President Scott Coker and former Pride executive Nobuyuki Sakakibara.
It’s not exactly Holm-Rousey 2 on a list of rematches MMA fans were waiting for, but it may still be effective in drawing those who can’t resist a freak show.
In their original meeting, contested under kickboxing rules, Sapp knocked out Akebono in less than two minutes. It was an unsurprising result, considering that Akebono (born Chad Rowan) was a sumo wrestler who weighed around 500 pounds at the time.
Bob Sapp vs. Akebono 2: Twice in a Lifetime pic.twitter.com/ueBI9dHyKZ
— The Tag Rope (@tagropemag) November 27, 2015
The fight was a phenomenon in Japan, where the 6’5″, 350-pound Goliath that is Sapp was a curiosity and a major celebrity.
That was 2003. Sapp went on to become the butt of one of MMA’s longest-running jokes, winning and losing (but mainly losing) a slew of bouts in shows around the world. Despite his imposing frame and menacing glare, Sapp frequently lost by knockout or submission within minutes (or seconds) of the opening bell.
Now 42 years old, Sapp is 11-18-1 in MMA and has not competed professionally in more than two years.
At least Bob Sapp isn’t fighting Fedor. Right… right?! #MMA
— JustBleedMMA (@JustBleedMMA) November 29, 2015
Amazingly, Sapp’s MMA resume is sterling compared to Akebono‘s. A distinguished sumo champion, Akebono racked up a 1-8 record in kickboxing and an 0-4 record in MMA before heading off to pro wrestling, where he worked until his return to MMA. Akebono is now 46 years old.
The show will air in the U.S. on Dec. 31 on Spike TV, also the broadcast home of Bellator. Several Bellator fighters are scheduled to fight on the card, even though Rizin is not strictly related to Bellator.
Rizin apparently came into being at some point during a protracted bidding war for Emelianenko, widely considered one of the best MMA fighters of all time. The 39-year-old Russian (34-4-1) announced this summer that he would come out of retirement, sparking a push from the UFC, Bellator and presumably others to secure his services.
Event organizers have not yet announced Emelianenko‘s opponent for his return fight.
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