We all know why Brock Lesnar deals with accusations and insinuations about steroid use. It’s because he’s a white dude. Right? Simply couldn’t be any other explanation. At least that’s what he told Pro MMA Radio:
“I’ve been accused of using steroids my entire life, probably since the tenth grade in high school… I’ve never failed a drug test. Now if I was a black guy and I looked the way I do would I get asked this question a 100 times? I just happen to be a white guy that has some great genetics, so I guess that puts a bullseye on me… I’m a white dude that’s shredded and you don’t see a lot of it — a guy that’s walking around that looks like me.”
I feel silly even typing this, but I think Brock Lesnar is oversimplifying this issue. I kind of see his point. Almost. But in answer to his question, if he was a 280-pound black man who was a former pro wrestler and who looked like an action figure, I tend to think that he would still get roughly the same amount of steroid questions. Does the name Bob Sapp sound familiar?
If Brock is tired of being asked about steroids, I have bad news for him. Unless he suddenly starts to resemble a normal human being it isn’t likely to stop. Perhaps his piles of money will console him.
— A simple, innocent video list on illegal knockouts turned into a total fucking fiasco. In retrospect, we should have replaced Huerta/Halvorsen with Herring/Nakao/”I’m not gay.” Commenter Matt Tatt sincerely hoped we die for publishing such an inaccurate feature. Sounds like my last editor!
— Taking a last-minute fight against Jon Fitch at a reduced pay rate? Chris Wilson is crazy like a fox.
— During our UFC 82 preview coverage, we explained why Anderson Silva is still going to be the champion on Sunday morning, wondered if Josh Koscheck’s Octagon days are numbered, and took wild guesses at who’ll be walking around with a little more spending money.
— Bill Goldberg currently leads Mike Goldberg 62% to 38% in our current poll on which Goldberg should never be allowed near a microphone again.
Don’t forget to watch the IFL’s season opener tonight, and come back here tomorrow night at 10 p.m. for our rip-roarin’ UFC 82 liveblog. Our prediction? PAIN.
Well, here it is — your main event from Strikeforce: At the Dome. Watch as Sapp starts running for his life at the 3:37 mark. By the way, Nortje’s “14-12 MMA record” is a complete fabrication. But then again, Bob Sapp was never an “NFL star.”
I’d like to congratulate everyone who put money on +450 underdog Jan Nortje in his Strikeforce headlining match against Bob Sapp last night — you are officially smarter than a 5th grader. Video of the fight will be posted early this week in case you missed it (and honestly, how many of you subscribe to HDNet?) but wow, what a performance. The Beast rushed out after the bell and immediately got caught with a punch, then clinched and pushed Nortje into the fence. After some fat-man hugging, the two super-heavyweights separated and Sapp stuck Nortje with some stiff jabs. But as soon as Notje got the chance to throw some leather, Bob winced, ran in the other direction, and fell to the mat, where Nortje pounded him until the ref stopped it at 55 seconds into the first. Classic Sapp. Now are you ready to retire, dickhead?
But it wasn’t all slapstick comedy at the Tacoma Dome. Joe Riggs had to be carried out on a stretcher after his submission-via-agony loss to Cory Devela. Riggs and Devela clinched early in round 1, and Devela broke the stalemate with a hip throw that slammed Riggs hard onto his back. Not only was the pain immediately apparent on Riggs’s face, but he barely had the strength to tap out; the ref called it at 1:22 of the first round. Unable to get to his feet, paramedics had to remove the former UFC fighter from the cage. Making the scene even more brutal, Riggs’s entire body seemed to spasm involuntarily while he was laid out. For a guy who was previously addicted to painkillers, Riggs will have a tough road ahead of him, even if the prognosis is just a few slipped discs. We’ll update you when you know more.
In the evening’s other notable match, 46-year-old former UFC heavyweight champ Maurice Smith spolied the MMA debut of 41-year-old kickboxer Rick “The Jet” Roufus. Roufus was totally lost once Smith shot in for a takedown, and Mo’ was able to get full mount and tap Roufus with an armlock at 1:53 of round one. It was the second fight in Smith’s current farewell-tour; he stepped away from the game in 2000, but returned to action with a TKO victory over Marco Ruas at an IFL event last May.
The night’s other matches weren’t nearly as exciting, unless you dig slow three-rounders fought by guys you’ve never heard of. But here’s how they turned out:
Eddy Ellis def. Steve Berger via unanimous decision
Jorge Masvidal def. Ryan Healy via unanimous decision
Mychal Clark def. Josh Bennett via TKO (doctor’s stoppage), end of round 2
Lyle Beerbohm def. Ray Perales via submission (guillotine choke), 1:19 into round 3
Mike Hayes def. Matt Kovacs via unanimous decision
Zach Skinner def. Scott Shaffer via unanimous decision
Nathan Coy def. Dave Courchaine via KO (punch), 1:46 into round 1
Don’t forget, tonight at 7:30 pm on HDNET you can see Bob Sapp make his MMA debut in the United States — Strikeforce and Bodog Fight will be cross promoting the show called Strikeforce: “At the Dome.”
Sapp, 6′5″ 350 pounds, takes on Jan “The Giant” Nortje who is no small man himself, standing at 6′11″ and weighing around 330 pounds, in the main event of the night. If you like knockouts, you’ll want to check this fight out for sure.
UFC veteran Joe “Diesel” Riggs (27-9) will also be fighting on the card, fighting up and comer Cory Devela (7-1) in a middleweight scrap.
Riggs knocked out Eugene Jackson in his last fight at a Strikeforce show at the Playboy mansion in September of last year. Devela’s lone loss was to Ed Herman back in 2004 and he seems to have a very good submission game and should give Diesel a run for his money.
The other fights on the card include:
Maurice Smith vs. Rick Roufus at heavyweight
Brad Blackburn vs. Ray Perales at 170 lbs.
Steve Berger vs. Eddy Ellis at 170 lbs.
Jorge Masvidal vs. Ryan Healy at 160 lbs.
Andrew Pedersen vs. Mychal Clark at heavyweight.
Zach Skinner vs. Scott Shaffer at 145 lbs.
Nathan Coy vs. Chris Davis at 170 lbs.
It should be worth a look if for nothing else other than to watch Sapp try and knock somebody out. He’ll be looking to win impressively in his first fight in the U.S in front of a hometown crwod.
— The fight card for Sengoku’s first show has been announced. Scheduled to go down March 5th in Tokyo, the event is headlined by Josh Barnett’s fight against champion judoka/mediocre MMA fighter Hidehiko Yoshida, which Barnett should win handily. Sengoku 1 also features bouts between Takanori Gomi and Duane “Bang” Ludwig, and Kazuo Misaki vs. Siyar Bahadurzada.
— Jens Pulver choked Cub Swanson directly into the minor leagues. Swanson faces Donny “Eagle Eye” Walker at IFBL Fight Night 11 tomorrow night in Niles, Ohio. Sucks to be you, brah!
— Chuck Liddell proves he’s no less intelligent than the average American during his disastrous performance on highbrow NPR quiz show “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” Not sure who advised him that this would be a good idea, but they should be taken off the payroll immediately. (To save yourself a whole lotta boredom, skip past the first five minutes.)
(“Hey, you know what would make you feel better? A delicious Rockstar Energy Drink.”)
— If Dan Henderson beats Anderson Silva at UFC 82, Wanderlei Silva would drop to middleweight to fight him. Hendo and Wandy have fought twice before in the PRIDE organization; Silva defeated Henderson by unanimous decision in December 2000, and Henderson knocked Silva out during a long-awaited rematch in February of last year.
— France is the latest European country to legalize MMA, and M-1 is looking to be the first promotion to hold an event there. Elbows, knees, and kicks on the ground will not be allowed in French MMA matches. Tapping out will be encouraged.
— Betting odds for Saturday’s Strikeforce at the Dome event have Bob Sapp as a -600 favorite, and Jan Nortje as a +450 underdog. Even though Nortje’s MMA stats have sucked, he’s done much better as a kickboxer. If you bet on fights, remember this: Sapp always has the capacity to lose.
Strikeforce will break out the reinforced steel cage on February 23 in Tacoma, Washington — nearly 700 pounds of oversized men trying to hurt each other will surely challenge the integrity of any structure.
That’s what will happen when 6′5″ 350-pound Bob “The Beast” Sapp (9-2-1) makes his United States debut for Strikeforce against 6′11″ 330-pound South African, Jan “The Giant” Nortje (1-5).
Clearly, Nortje’s Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) record is not good. And his K-1 record (9-17) is equally unimpressive.
But Nortje won’t need to rely on his MMA background or his technical skills in this one. That’s because he’ll try to win this fight with raw punching power. He’s had success in his career as a boxer (10-0) and as a kickboxer (14-12). He’ll lean on that experience against Sapp in what is sure to be a gigantic slugfest.
In fact, Nortje is thrilled to have an opportunity against a big freak name like Sapp.
Here’s a snip:
“I’m extremely excited. I’ve always seen Bob get big opportunities so I think it’s my turn to show what I can do against him.”
Sapp’s name is huge in Japan. He’s mostly known for his physical presence and just being a large and powerful human. Sapp has been criticized in the past for not taking his fights serious and just coming out on fight night and trying to win with intimidation.
That might not work against a guy nicknamed “the Giant”.
Most fans remember Sapp for getting his orbital bone broken by Mirko Cro Cop or his arm locked up by Big Nog. He’s proved less than worthy of competition like that … at least for now (even though he just called out Fedor Emelianenko).
However, he is an interesting draw. And because this will mark the first fight in the states for Sapp, he will more than likely looking for a highlight reel knockout to boost his stock.
For the latest “Strikeforce at the Dome” fight card click here.
