With losses in 14 out of his last 16, former Pride FC and K-1 attraction Bob Sapp has long been light years away from true combat sports relevancy. Now, however, the hulking super heavyweight is facing disgrace of an entirely different and more concerning type, as Japanese outlet Shukan Bunshun (via Bloody Elbow) has reported […]
With losses in 14 out of his last 16, former Pride FC and K-1 attraction Bob Sapp has long been light years away from true combat sports relevancy.
Now, however, the hulking super heavyweight is facing disgrace of an entirely different and more concerning type, as Japanese outlet Shukan Bunshun (via Bloody Elbow) has reported that Sapp recently had some incredibly concerning domestic violence allegations leveled towards him.
Apparently his girlfriend has released pictures detailing the alleged assault, and needless to say, the images aren’t for the squeamish. Check them out here:
The report said that the supposed victim was yet to be named, but had dated Sapp since 2011 and had also helped him with management of his fighting career.
The alleged attacks reportedly go back to March 2016.
Even more evidence has surfaced as well, with the following Facebook message exchange supposedly coming from Sapp to the reported victim:
Sapp was once known for taking all-time great Pride heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to the limit years ago, but has since become a punching bag of sorts who is known to tap out at the first sign of adversity.
However, that hasn’t stopped him from being at least some sort of attraction in his adopted home of Japan, with him reportedly meeting a bear in a contest of strength at a year-ending show called Kyokugen 2017 while also being rumored to be taking on retired sumo wrestler Yokozuna Asashoryu for Japan’s web TV service AbemaTV on New Year’s Eve.
No word has arrived on whether or not these allegations will affect those two appearances.
With losses in 14 out of his last 16, former Pride FC and K-1 attraction Bob Sapp has long been light years away from true combat sports relevancy. Now, however, the hulking super heavyweight is facing disgrace of an entirely different and more concerning type, as Japanese outlet Shukan Bunshun (via Bloody Elbow) has reported […]
With losses in 14 out of his last 16, former Pride FC and K-1 attraction Bob Sapp has long been light years away from true combat sports relevancy.
Now, however, the hulking super heavyweight is facing disgrace of an entirely different and more concerning type, as Japanese outlet Shukan Bunshun (via Bloody Elbow) has reported that Sapp recently had some incredibly concerning domestic violence allegations leveled towards him.
Apparently his girlfriend has released pictures detailing the alleged assault, and needless to say, the images aren’t for the squeamish. Check them out here:
The report said that the supposed victim was yet to be named, but had dated Sapp since 2011 and had also helped him with management of his fighting career.
The alleged attacks reportedly go back to March 2016.
Even more evidence has surfaced as well, with the following Facebook message exchange supposedly coming from Sapp to the reported victim:
Sapp was once known for taking all-time great Pride heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to the limit years ago, but has since become a punching bag of sorts who is known to tap out at the first sign of adversity.
However, that hasn’t stopped him from being at least some sort of attraction in his adopted home of Japan, with him reportedly meeting a bear in a contest of strength at a year-ending show called Kyokugen 2017 while also being rumored to be taking on retired sumo wrestler Yokozuna Asashoryu for Japan’s web TV service AbemaTV on New Year’s Eve.
No word has arrived on whether or not these allegations will affect those two appearances.
All-time great heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko will make his anticipated Bellator debut versus UFC veteran Matt Mitrione in the main event of this tomorrow’s (Sat., February 18, 2017) Bellator 172 from the SAP Center in Sacramento, California. The former PRIDE legend and heavyweight champion may be in the twilight of his illustrious career, having barely
All-time great heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko will make his anticipated Bellator debut versus UFC veteran Matt Mitrione in the main event of this tomorrow’s (Sat., February 18, 2017) Bellator 172 from the SAP Center in Sacramento, California.
The former PRIDE legend and heavyweight champion may be in the twilight of his illustrious career, having barely outlasted UFC castoff Fabio Maldonado with an extremely controversial decision at EFN 50 last June. But ‘The Last Emperor’ is still one of the most popular fighters in MMA, and he brings a five-fight win streak into the Bellator cage this Saturday night.
While his biggest impacts on the sport of MMA may have already been made by Emelianenko, but many fans who have picked up the sport in recent years unfortunately didn’t have a chance to grasp the true greatness and aura of Fedor. That means there’s not a better time to look back on his five biggest wins for hardcore fans and fans new to MMA alike. Here are ‘The Last Emperor’s’ five greatest wins.
5.) Knockout of Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: Day Of Reckoning:
Fedor came into this fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski on an incredible 26-fight unbeaten streak, and his only loss was an incredibly controversial TKO stoppage against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka due to a cut, a loss which he later avenged in Pride.
He was also riding high on the momentum of a finish win over another former UFC champ in Tim Sylvia, who he submitted at Affliction: Banned only six months earlier, but ‘The Pitbull’ was actually taking it to Emelianenko early on in their match, landing crisp punches and inside leg kicks and even rocking Emelianenko with a body kick that bounced him off the ropes.
However, he made the fatal mistake of launching for an ill-advised flying knee on ‘The Last Emperor,’ who was waiting with a picture-perfect right hand that floored Arlovski in what ranks as his cleanest finish of all-time. The victory even earned him ‘Knockout of the Year’ in 2009.
The date is October 31, 2004, and a young Alexander Emelianenko begins to step out of the shadow of his older brother. Just one year and five fights in to his MMA career, the younger brother of Fedor would take on James Thompson in a match up typical of the Pride FC era. ‘Colossus’ is
The date is October 31, 2004, and a young Alexander Emelianenko begins to step out of the shadow of his older brother. Just one year and five fights in to his MMA career, the younger brother of Fedor would take on James Thompson in a match up typical of the Pride FC era. ‘Colossus’ is a giant of a man, and appeared enraged as they stared down in the ring. Charging across the ring as the fight started, Thompson got himself caught by a clean punch to the jaw. Emelianenko’s hand was raised, and the Englishman was subdued in just 11 seconds. 10 years later, Emelianenko’s fighting career was in ruins.
No longer competing against the world’s elite, Alex lost a highly suspicious TKO to Dmitriy Sosnovskiy in January 2014. Although his last competition to date, this was by far from Emelianenko’s last fight. The Sambo specialist was first accused of assaulting an old man in a Moscow cafe, later settling out of court, before the real drama started. Brought up on charges of kidnapping and rape, Alex’s dark side had begun to catch up with him. Disregard his allegedly gang-related tattoos, forget about accusations he was fighting with Hepatitis C, Emelianenko was facing hard time.
Photo Credit: RIA Novosti/Vitaliy Belousov
Sentence
On May 19, 2015, Alexander Emelianenko was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. Denying he’d drugged and raped the 27-year old house maid who’d accused him, Alex was sent behind bars until 2020. As things turned out, he’d serve less than 18 months, being released on parole this past October for good behaviour. Since being freed, Emelianenko has said he wants to fight again as soon as possible, and still denies the charges he served time for. During an interview with Riavrn.ru, as quoted by BloodyElbow.com, Emelianenko describes life as it was for him in a Russian prison:
“We are two people in a cell,” Emelianenko explained. “There’s the usual, ordinary people and are constantly changing. At first it was uncomfortable. But then you get used to it and you feel normal. We started doing athlete programs together.”
Squats & Push Ups
“The days are absolutely similar. Due to the limited closed space there is nothing for a person to occupy themselves. And so – nothing happens. I read books like “Faust.” When I was alone, from idleness, I began to do squats and push-ups. Had time to do more than 300 squats but I didn’t want to sweat because there was no place to bathe in the chamber. At the prison, you could go to the gym for an extra charge. I went every day.”
Referring to his alleged kidnapping and rape charges, Emelianenko said it was a ‘consensual’ encounter. However you view it, the younger brother of one of the greatest heavyweights ever is now a free man. He will still have to do ‘two years and 23 days’ of hard labour, but insists this won’t hinder him from fighting very soon:
“I do not care with whom I fight,” Emelianenko told MatchTV. “I want to be prepared to meet with the organizers and face foreign athletes. Why should Russians fight each other?”
Owned by former Pride FC boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Rizin FF has been steadily gathering talent over the last year. Unfortunately their debut event last December proved to be lacklustre at best, as MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko returned against MMA newcomer Jaideep Singh. That said, the promotion provided a nostalgic feel with their outlandish entrances, overall
Owned by former Pride FC boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Rizin FF has been steadily gathering talent over the last year. Unfortunately their debut event last December proved to be lacklustre at best, as MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko returned against MMA newcomer Jaideep Singh. That said, the promotion provided a nostalgic feel with their outlandish entrances, overall production and old school rules. Since their first event, Rizin has harvested some of the most popular names from the JMMA heydays.
Included on that list were fierce rivals Mirko Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva. Sharing a duo of fights under the Pride banner, Cro Cop and Silva quickly engaged in beef after Filipovic’s successful debut back in September. Then came the news that Silva was unable to compete, citing the need for more time to recover from recent injuries. Needless to say, Cro Cop was not impressed, and unleashed a furious rant about his old foe.
King Mo Steps In
Last night it was confirmed by MMAJunkie.comthat Muhammed Lawal would step in to replace Wanderlei Silva. The quarter finals of the openweight grand prix is set for December 29, with the semi finals and finals both taking place on New Year’s Eve. King Mo has lost just one of his last eight bouts, and won the heavyweight GP for Rizin last year. Cro Cop is unbeaten in four fights, and recently avenged his loss to Gabriel Gonzaga before joining Rizin FF.
Also being replaced on December 29 is former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin. The heavy-handed knockout artist came out of retirement to Join Rizin, but was later scratched due to injury, Replacing ‘The Engineer’ against Amir Aliakbari is another familiar face from the Pride FC days. Heath Herring fights for the first time since losing to Brock Lesnar in 2008, replacing Carwin on December 29. Long considered one of the best heavyweights in the world until around 2002, Herring holds a 28-14 (1 NC) record.
Rizin FF Quarter Finals Matches
Venue: Saitama Super Arena, Japan
Date: Rizin FF 3 December 29 (QF), Rizin FF 4 December 31 (SF/F)
QUARTERFINAL STAGE: MIRKO “CRO COP” FILIPOVIC VS. KING MO WANDERLEI SILVA “BARUTO” VS. TSUYOSHI KOSAKA SHANE CARWIN HEATH HERRING VS. AMIR ALIAKBARI VALENTINE MOLDAVSKY VS. SZYMON BAJOR
Longtime MMA star Dan Henderson officially retired after his close unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping in the main event of last night’s (Sat., October 8, 2016) UFC 204 from Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, and he did so in the style that only the heavy-hitting “Hendo” could. A throwback to an earlier era of MMA
Longtime MMA star Dan Henderson officially retired after his close unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping in the main event of last night’s (Sat., October 8, 2016) UFC 204 from Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, and he did so in the style that only the heavy-hitting “Hendo” could.
A throwback to an earlier era of MMA where fighters fought to compete rather than gather social media followers, “Hendo” went out with a bang by nearly finishing now-champ Bisping in the same fashion in which he so iconically did at 2009’s UFC 100. In the end, the 46-year-old Henderson was edged out by Bisping’s far superior aggression, striking volume, and accuracy, but the two “H-Bombs” that nearly put “The Count’s” lights out in the first and second round were more than enough for most Hendo fans to believe their man had done enough to win.
While that’s a tough proposition to do against the champion in his home (and in a fight where he rarely pushed the action), the once-named “Hollywood” made things as dramatic as ever, and that is why he will go down as one of the most revered fighters in UFC and MMA history.
His story is a unique one. After a Greco Roman wrestling career that twice saw him compete in the Summer Olympics, Henderson first fought in the UFC in only his third MMA fight, defeating Allan Goes by decision on May 15, 1998 before outlasting Carlos Newton on the same night to win the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Final. After a string of six decision wins in seven bouts saw him dubbed “Decision Dan,” Hendo refuted the notion by becoming “Hollywood” in Pride due to his highlight reel finishes.
There, he fought a who’s who of Japanese MMA at the time, winning the welterweight championship and defeating Wanderlei Silva for the middleweight belt to become the first simultaneous two-weight champion in Pride. He remains the only man to do so.
In the Octagon, Hendo never won the one title that eluded him, falling just short against elite fighters such as Anderson Silva, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, and Bisping. Obviously he did etch his name into UFC history with possibly the most infamous knockout ever for his one-punch decimation of Bisping at UFC 100.
He even left for Strikeforce after a contract dispute following his historic knockout of Bisping, becoming their 205-pound champion by knocking out Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante. Henderson then knocked out arguably the best heavyweight of all-time when he floored Fedor Emelianenko in 2011.
That was enough for the UFC to re-sign him, and his third UFC run began with a fight that many feel may be the greatest MMA bout of all-time, his classic UFC 139 war with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. It was the kind of bouts fans came to love and respect from Henderson.
That fight lead to a light heavyweight champion to dominant then-champ Jon Jones, but the bout never happened when Henderson injured his knee and ‘Bones’ refused to fight anyone on short notice, leading to the the promotion’s first ever cancellation of an event with UFC 151.
Hendo never seemed to quite bounce back from the over yearlong layoff that resulted, dropping narrow, uninspired split decisions to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans in 2013 before he was knocked out by the almost superhuman force of TRT-era Vitor Belfort (yes, it also deserves to be noted that Henderson was a pioneer of sorts of TRT use in MMA, being one of the first to secure a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for the treatment).
His UFC run ended with seven losses in his last 10 bouts, but any MMA fan couldn’t help but forget all about those when Henderson rallied to knock out Hector Lombard with, of all things, a back-elbow, head kick, forearm smash combination at UFC 199. It was enough to get him a revenge-based title shot against Bisping despite the backlash due to the bout’s accused refusal to adhere to anything close to resembling a fair rankings system.
It happened, and Henderson and Bisping delivered a classic. True, Henderson came up just short, but even the Manchester fans gave him a rousing ovation after he nearly knocked out their famed hometown champion on more than one occasion.
Henderson was a throwback of MMA gone past who still brought the excitement needed to gain attention in today’s increasingly fast-paced, attention-starved world. There simply won’t be another fighter like him, and while he may not have had his hand raised every time, it was most certainly guaranteed you would be seeing a show.
“Hendo,” “Hollywood,” “Dangerous,” or even “Decision Dan,” Henderson was, is, and always will be an MMA legend. In his case, the UFC belt doesn’t prove or disprove that, yet he battled the only way he knew how to in one last war last with Bisping night.
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