Rizin signs Sapp vs. Akebono rematch for its debut

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La Paix

La Paix

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It was anything but a classic fight, but on Dec. 31, 2003, Bob Sapp and Akebono put on a spectacle that nothing since has ever come close to equaling in Japanese culture. On Friday, a rematch was announced for a show exactly a dozen years later.

The two giants fought under kickboxing rules as part of what turned out to be the biggest New Year's Eve fight night during the period it became a television tradition in Japan, battling before 30,000 fans at the Nagoya Dome. The Sapp vs. Akebono fight won the night for K-1, when three different networks were airing live fights, with shows that combined MMA, kickboxing, weird mixed rules fights and even pro wrestling all on the same stage.

Rizin signs Sapp vs. Akebono rematch for its debut - MMA Fighting
 
Team Bisping

Team Bisping

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Sapp will go down within 30 seconds, just a payday , not sure if this is fighter bashing but I believe many of his fights are fixed.
 
La Paix

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Gilbosh said:
Sapp will go down within 30 seconds, just a payday , not sure if this is fighter bashing but I believe many of his fights are fixed.
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I'll take a look later but he made comments about he only fights as to what he's getting paid. If he feels he taken enough damage for what he's being paid he'll tap. I hope Rizin bucks up huge so we can see some more beast mode.
 
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@SaddamHugeVein and I called Bob Sapp out on his tanking in fights on Twitter one time.

He answered in a very indirect way that basically confirmed that he does it. Said something like "I'm rich, retired, and I don't have to worry about money".

I actually appreciated at the time that he was as honest as he could be about it, but no, I'm not interested in seeing him "fight".
 
Robbie Hart

Robbie Hart

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BirdWatcher said:
I'll take a look later but he made comments about he only fights as to what he's getting paid. If he feels he taken enough damage for what he's being paid he'll tap. I hope Rizin bucks up huge so we can see some more beast mode.
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Then he could easily be compromised and throw a fight for additional cash, IMO
 
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Gilbosh said:
Sapp will go down within 30 seconds, just a payday , not sure if this is fighter bashing but I believe many of his fights are fixed.
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I think Sapp goes in with the intention to quit on any pain or potentially damage taking position he is put in.

I think if he landed a clean shot he would take the win.

So he can win, but is perfectly willing to lose. So on one hand I want to call it fix like on the other hand I don't think the outcome is pre determined.
 
Wild

Wild

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UKTT-God Save the Queen said:
It devalues the whole organization and the fighters fighting for them in my mind.
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As fans, we've been sold on this idea that there's only one way of putting on a show, and that's how the UFC does it. Fighters that come up thru the ranks, with credentials...rankings, structured, professional. What we tend to forget is PRIDE put on these same type of fights and was once considered the premier MMA organization in the world. I guess it can be argued that looking back, it devalued their organization & fighters...but the fact remains, those events were awesome. Rizin is simply trying to get people (especially in Asia) interested. Eyes on their product that is debuting. Using these match-ups to sell tickets and ratings, so they can build for the future. I think we should look at this for what it is. I mean, there aren't a lot of legit fighters in their prime, that aren't already under contract w/ other orgs. So if Rizin went out and put together 7-8 fights between unknown Russian Fighter A w/ 3-0 record vs unknown Japanese Fighter A w/ 4-1 record...people would say who the fuck are these guys? Damned if they do, damned if they dont. They're just doing what they have to do at the moment.
 
Tyler Durden

Tyler Durden

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JohnyHendricksBeard said:
I'll be curious to see the ratings for this on Spike compared to the UFC on Fox ratings.
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Casuals don't know who Sapp is, nor do they care. This is a Japanese show for Japanese fans. Don't get your hopes up that this is some new promotion that will rival the old pride
 
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nick diaz nut hugger said:
@SaddamHugeVein and I called Bob Sapp out on his tanking in fights on Twitter one time.

He answered in a very indirect way that basically confirmed that he does it. Said something like "I'm rich, retired, and I don't have to worry about money".

I actually appreciated at the time that he was as honest as he could be about it, but no, I'm not interested in seeing him "fight".
Click to expand...

Oh Nick.....Us and our wild times... :0
 
BeardOfKnowledge

BeardOfKnowledge

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Tyler Durden said:
Casuals don't know who Sapp is, nor do they care. This is a Japanese show for Japanese fans. Don't get your hopes up that this is some new promotion that will rival the old pride
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Casuals also don't know 95% of the UFC on Fox fighters. I have no hopes for anything, I'm simply curious how a card with a bunch of fights being sold as entertaining, rather than quality will do. They're already unlikely to do good North American numbers because the show will be at some odd ball hour.
 
Tiiimmmaaayyy

Tiiimmmaaayyy

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It is definitely a freak show. But I'll still watch. Always enjoyed watching The Beast fight even if some of the fights may have had predetermined outcomes. The last time I heard anything about him, he said he had like 10 million in the bank or something. If that's true he definitely doesn't have to fight, so hopefully it's because he wants to and he will take it seriously. Either way should be quite the spectacle. I'll enjoy watching a five minute entrance for a 35 second fight.
 
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