(“You feel that breeze? That’s all you’ll need to do to make me quit. BEAST OUT.”)
I might be alone in this, but I was under the impression that Bob Sapp had retired from professional fighting and disappeared off the face of the earth the minute after he was ambushed by Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. As it turns out, Sapp actually emerged from hiding last year and picked up a victory over Akebono in a kickboxing match at Rizin 2. So technically, this means that Bob Sapp has scored more victories in the past year than Anthony Pettis and Renan Barao combined. What a world.
Anyways, it appears that Sapp will be returning to the cage for the first time since 2013 next month, where he’ll face off with Aori “The Heavyweight Supernova” Gele in an openweight MMA bout under the Road FC banner. While promoting the event at a press conference this morning, Sapp nearly came to blows with Gele and forced Hong Man Choi, of all people, to break up the action. I don’t mean to spoil it, but suffice it to say, the UFC 178 media day brawl it was not.
(“You feel that breeze? That’s all you’ll need to do to make me quit. BEAST OUT.”)
I might be alone in this, but I was under the impression that Bob Sapp had retired from professional fighting and disappeared off the face of the earth the minute after he was ambushed by Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. As it turns out, Sapp actually emerged from hiding last year and picked up a victory over Akebono in a kickboxing match at Rizin 2. So technically, this means that Bob Sapp has scored more victories in the past year than Anthony Pettis and Renan Barao combined. What a world.
Anyways, it appears that Sapp will be returning to the cage for the first time since 2013 next month, where he’ll face off with Aori “The Heavyweight Supernova” Gele in an openweight MMA bout under the Road FC banner. While promoting the event at a press conference this morning, Sapp nearly came to blows with Gele and forced Hong Man Choi, of all people, to break up the action. I don’t mean to spoil it, but suffice it to say, the UFC 178 media day brawl it was not.
So, yeah. Sapp and Gele will do battle (or something resembling it) at a Road FC 32 on July 2nd. Be there or be…anywhere else, really.
Props to Reddit MMA for informing us that former Road FC ring girlSong Ga Yeon (aka Ga Yeon Song, aka songkayeoun) won her MMA debut last month, TKO’ing Emi Yamamoto in the first round of their headlining match at Road FC 17 in Seoul. Song is a 19-year-old atomweight from Gumi, South Korea, who is semi-famous in her home country for appearing on the Big Brother-style reality show Roommate.
Surprisingly, Song’s MMA debut wasn’t just a stunt to sell tickets; this girl can actually bang. Watch the video below to see her come out like a swarm of bees against Yamamoto, mixing aggressive strikes and a serviceable takedown game before ending the fight with ground-and-pound at the video’s 6:25 mark. Impressive.
We’ve put eight more Song Ga Yeon photos after the jump, if you’re interested…
Props to Reddit MMA for informing us that former Road FC ring girlSong Ga Yeon (aka Ga Yeon Song, aka songkayeoun) won her MMA debut last month, TKO’ing Emi Yamamoto in the first round of their headlining match at Road FC 17 in Seoul. Song is a 19-year-old atomweight from Gumi, South Korea, who is semi-famous in her home country for appearing on the Big Brother-style reality show Roommate.
Surprisingly, Song’s MMA debut wasn’t just a stunt to sell tickets; this girl can actually bang. Watch the video below to see her come out like a swarm of bees against Yamamoto, mixing aggressive strikes and a serviceable takedown game before ending the fight with ground-and-pound at the video’s 6:25 mark. Impressive.
I do not want to reveal too much, but the next card will eclipse the Road FC 11 card. We are very close to getting Melvin Manhoef vs Mirko Cro Cop done for the next event.
If that statement does not make your heart skip a beat, then you are dead inside.
Sure, many of you will look at this as one of those “__ Years Too Late” fights, but we all said the same thing about Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell, and how amazing was that fight? Despite the fact that he’s coming off a loss to Brock Larson at One FC 8, Manhoef has actually reeled off three wins in his past four contests and has proven that he can still kick with the best of them (and oft through them). As for the size difference? I refer you to this.
(Oh yeah, they’ll be a lot of this sort of thing.)
I do not want to reveal too much, but the next card will eclipse the Road FC 11 card. We are very close to getting Melvin Manhoef vs Mirko Cro Cop done for the next event.
If that statement does not make your heart skip a beat, then you are dead inside.
Sure, many of you will look at this as one of those “__ Years Too Late” fights, but we all said the same thing about Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell, and how amazing was that fight? Despite the fact that he’s coming off a loss to Brock Larson at One FC 8, Manhoef has actually reeled off three wins in his past four contests and has proven that he can still kick with the best of them (and oft through them). As for the size difference? I refer you to this.
Also set for ROAD FC 12, the professional MMA debut of former Korean national boxing champion, PABA champion, and IBF champion, Ji Hoon Kim, who will likely be competing in a bantamweight contest.
No, the legendary Super Hluk title was not on the line.
At a glance, these fights could have just as easily been included in this morning’s can-crushing roundup. Both fights featured established names taking on little-known Korean fighters with less-than-stellar records- one of which ended rather predictably. But perhaps that wouldn’t be a fair interpretation of the phrase “can-crusher.”
Over the past three years, Melvin Manhoef has deteriorated into a fighter who is only capable of defeating his own shins, having gone 1-4 (1) since 2009. Last night, Manhoef was matched up against 14-9 (2) Korean fighter Jae Young Kim. Despite his mediocre record, Kim had won ten of his fights by knockout and wasn’t lost on the ground, either; his most recent fight was a victory by North-South choke against Hee Seung Kim.
The duo produced an entertaining three round fight that saw Manhoef walk away with a split-decision victory. Manhoef may have looked slow at times, but his ground game appears to be less of a liability than it has usually been, as he was taken down but never submitted. He now stands at 25-9-1 (1) overall.
No, the legendary Super Hluk title was not on the line.
At a glance, these fights could have just as easily been included in this morning’s can-crushing roundup. Both fights featured established names taking on little-known Korean fighters with less-than-stellar records- one of which ended rather predictably. But perhaps that wouldn’t be a fair interpretation of the phrase “can-crusher.”
Over the past three years, Melvin Manhoef has deteriorated into a fighter who is only capable of defeating his own shins, having gone 1-4 (1) since 2009. Last night, Manhoef was matched up against 14-9 (2) Korean fighter Jae Young Kim. Despite his mediocre record, Kim had won ten of his fights by knockout and wasn’t lost on the ground, either; his most recent fight was a victory by North-South choke against Hee Seung Kim.
The duo produced an entertaining three round fight that saw Manhoef walk away with a split-decision victory. Manhoef may have looked slow at times, but his ground game appears to be less of a liability than it has usually been, as he was taken down but never submitted. He now stands at 25-9-1 (1) overall.
Melvin Manhoef vs. Jae Young Kim
If Jae Young Kim is too credible of an opponent for Melvin Manhoef to deserve to be called a can, then Jin Soo Yuk isn’t credible enough to deserve that distinction. That’s a pretty bold statement on its own, let alone considering that his opponent is freak show specialist Ikuhisa Minowa. See, unlike the cans and freaks like Bob Sapp, Hong Man Choi and Butterbean that Minowaman has made a career out of defeating, Jin Soo Yuk is A.) actually a middleweight and B.) winless in his MMA career. He’s yet to prove that he can defeat anybody, so should we even be considering him a fighter?
Jae Young Kim doesn’t disappoint, as he gets caught in a kimura with one second left in the first round. Minowaman is now 54-34-8 in his career, while Jin Soo Yuk falls to 0-3. God bless your crazy hearts, Road FC matchmakers.
Hope you jerks are having a better Father’s Day than some of us.
Yesterday didn’t just provide us with depressing fights from former contenders. We also got to witness a fight from former champion Tim Sylvia and Jong Dae Kim attempt to win The Bob Sapp Challenge™. Okay, so it was still somewhat depressing. But at least you won’t feel guilty for pointing and laughing at anyone involved, so what else can you ask for?
Tim Sylvia has been making a valiant effort to win fights and get back to the UFC as of late- although the overwhelming majority of his battles have taken place on Twitter and YouTube. Fresh off of back-to-back TKO losses to Patrick Cote and dignity, Tim Sylvia decided to do his fighting inside the cage last night against Randy Smith, a thirty-eight year old journeyman who entered the bout with a 13-10-1 professional record. A can of his caliber shouldn’t last ten seconds in the cage with a former UFC champion, yet Smith defied the odds by being knocked twelve seconds into the first round.
Impressive victory over a game opponent? Not so much. Will it take our minds off of his last effort, a forgettable decision over Andreas Kraniotakes at the abysmal Pro Elite 2: Big Guns? Trick question- we’ve blocked that fight from our memories a long time ago. Low-Quality to the point of being virtually unwatchable video after the jump? You betcha.
Hope you jerks are having a better Father’s Day than some of us.
Yesterday didn’t just provide us with depressing fights from former contenders. We also got to witness a fight from former champion Tim Sylvia and Jong Dae Kim attempt to win The Bob Sapp Challenge™. Okay, so it was still somewhat depressing. But at least you won’t feel guilty for pointing and laughing at anyone involved, so what else can you ask for?
Tim Sylvia has been making a valiant effort to win fights and get back to the UFC as of late- although the overwhelming majority of his battles have taken place on Twitter and YouTube. Fresh off of back-to-back TKO losses to Patrick Cote and dignity, Tim Sylvia decided to do his fighting inside the cage last night against Randy Smith, a thirty-eight year old journeyman who entered the bout with a 13-10-1 professional record. A can of his caliber shouldn’t last ten seconds in the cage with a former UFC champion, yet Smith defied the odds by being knocked out twelve seconds into the first round.
Impressive victory over a game opponent? Not so much. Will it take our minds off of his last effort, a forgettable decision over Andreas Kraniotakes at the abysmal Pro Elite 2: Big Guns? Trick question- we’ve blocked that fight from our memories a long time ago. Low-Quality to the point of being virtually unwatchable video after the jump? You betcha.
As for Jong Dae Kim? He fought Bob Sapp at last night’s Road FC 8 in Seoul, South Korea. And believe it or not, Bob Sapp actually fought back. For a few moments, it even looked like Bob Sapp would win. We’re only one week removed from Tölegen Akylbekov setting the bar for The Bob Sapp Challenge™ at one minute, twenty four seconds, yet the bar has already been raised to three minutes, fourteen seconds of round two. That’s not a typo. Enjoy.
Canadian middleweight Denis Kang has inked a multi-fight non-exclusive deal with the Korean upstart MMA promotion Road FC.
Kang is a possibility for the Road FC 2 card on April 16 in Seoul — that is, if he emerges unscathed from a March 26 meeting with The Ultimate Fighter alum Jesse Taylor.
