Bob Sapp Fires Back At FEG After DYNAMITE!!! Disaster

Remember that post I wrote about how there was no update to the FEG financial situation and that it wasn't worth reporting? You know, this one. Well, I maaaaay have spoken too soon. Or late. One of the two. Bob Sapp recently spoke with MMAJunkie and had the following to say about his failed appearance at Dynamite!!! this year:

Sapp claims that promoters were supposed to pay him $30,000 to fight Shinichi Suzukawa in a modified-rules bout at the year-end show in Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Instead, he claims FEG executive Sadaharu Tanikawa offered him $15,000 shortly after he arrived in the country the week prior to the event. He refused and made a counter-offer of $25,000, a sum which he claims is half of what the promotion owed him for previous services.

Sapp went on to say that FEG doesn't have any money, or in his words "K-1 is broke and DREAM is broke". The interview couldn't have happened at a worse time for FEG, who is currently in the process of restructuring in hopes of continuing events in the future. Sapp is one of the few fighters that requires promoters to have his purse in an escrow account prior to fighting and this is the second time this year that Sapp pulled out of an event due to promoter shenanigans, with the other instance occurring at the Impact FC event in Australia earlier this year.  

It should also be noted that Tony Loiseleur of Sherdog.com, reported that the reason for Sapp pulling out of the event was not because of FEG trying to renegotiate his deal, but because Sapp tried to negotiate for a portion of merchandise sales from the event. In a story of "He Said He Said", the history of Bob Sapp's withdrawal from events at the eleventh hour must be discussed.

Bob Sapp was once consistently one of the highest paid athletes in Japan, pulling paydays of around $350-400,000 during the peak interest in JMMA and K-1. Unfortunately, it seems those days have passed. At one point Bob had a store for his own merchandise in in Tokyo, he was the biggest thing in Japanese combat sports. However, as with anything with Bob Sapp, there is always two sides to a story. Sapp has a history of pulling out of events at the last moment, putting the show in jeopardy, most notably the event in Amsterdam that was supposed to be Ernesto Hoost's last performance in Amsterdam before his retirement. After doing press and attending the pre-fight press conference, Sapp pulled out after taking part in the opening ceremonies. 

FEG is not a perfect company. Everyone at this point knows of their issues with paying fighters in a timely fashion, if at all. But when speaking of a fighter with a history like Bob Sapp, one must question who truly is in the wrong. Sapp's comments may be the nail in the coffin for a company under the microscope, but please take them with a grain of salt. Just like FEG, Bob Sapp is not perfect and may have his own agenda trying to save face.