Bob Sapp Net Worth

What is Bob Sapp's Net Worth?

Bob Sapp is an American mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, and former football player who has a net worth of $1 million. Bob Sapp is most famous in Japan, where he competes in the Rizin Fighting Federation and has appeared on various television shows and in commercials. Although initially successful in mixed martial arts and kickboxing, he eventually gained a reputation as a can due to his losing habits.

Early Life and Education

Bob Sapp was born on September 22, 1973, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He attended Mitchell High School, where he played football, and then went to the University of Washington on a football scholarship. At Washington, Sapp won the Morris Award in 1996.

NFL Career

In the 1997 NFL draft, Sapp was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round. He stayed with the team for one season but never played in any games. Sapp went on to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, but played in just one game for the team over two seasons. In 1998, Sapp was suspended from the NFL for steroid abuse.

Professional Wrestling Career

After being defrauded by his economic advisor and left to move coffins at a funeral home for a living, Sapp decided to become a professional wrestler. He began his career in NWA Wildside in 2000 before moving to World Championship Wrestling as a developmental wrestler. After that company was acquired by the World Wrestling Federation, Sapp left professional wrestling. He returned in 2002 in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and soon became a celebrity in Japan, where he appeared on many television shows and in commercials. Sapp also began wrestling in All Japan Pro Wrestling and Wrestle-1. In 2004, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, becoming the first African-American wrestler to do so. Sapp later appeared in the Hustle promotion. In 2008, he went on the independent circuit and started wrestling in the South Korean promotion WWA. The following year, Sapp won the WWA Heavyweight Championship. He returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling in early 2013.

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Kickboxing and MMA

During his break from professional wrestling in 2000, Sapp competed on the FX amateur boxing television show "The Toughman Competition," and ended up beating fellow former Chicago Bears player William Perry. The match was shown to Kazuyoshi Ishii, the chairman of the Japanese kickboxing promotion K-1, who subsequently invited Sapp to Japan to help launch his kickboxing career. Sapp was eventually sent to the MMA promotion PRIDE Fighting Championships, in which he made his debut in 2002. He quickly became a fan favorite in Japan due to his imposing size, charisma, and hard-charging demeanor, and in no time he was the most popular fighter in K-1. However, although he had initial success in both kickboxing and MMA, Sapp gradually experienced a significant decline in his performances and gained a reputation as a can. From September 2005 to January 2018, he won just two of his 17 kickboxing matches, and from May 2009 to September 2018 he won just two of his 19 MMA fights. Sapp was accused by many of throwing his fights, which he denied. He has continued to do sporadic stints with various MMA promotions in Japan, the United States, and Europe.

Acting Career

As an actor, Sapp had his first major live-action screen role in Takashi Miike's 2004 surrealist period horror film "IZO." The following year, he appeared in two Hollywood films: the superhero film "Elektra" and the sports comedy "The Longest Yard." In 2007, Sapp played a tough inmate in the martial arts prison comedy film "Big Stan," directed by and starring Rob Schneider. Sapp was in another martial arts film, "Blood and Bone," in 2009. A couple of years after that, he was in the sword and sorcery film "Conan the Barbarian."

Personal Life

In late 2017, a woman alleging to be Sapp's girlfriend accused him of domestic abuse. She provided photographic evidence of the alleged injuries to the Japanese newspaper Shukan Bunshun. An apology message was included in the paper that was allegedly from Sapp, but no civil suit or criminal proceedings were pursued.

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