Former Husky Football Star Bob Sapp to Fight Anime Character

You may remember Bob Sapp--he was a star football player for the Huskies in the 90s, winning the Morris Award as the PAC-10's top offensive lineman. After his gridiron dreams failed, he became "The Beast," a mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and all-around celebrity phenomenon in Japan. Steve Kelley did a great piece on Sapp's story here.

Today, Sapp is fighting Kinniku Mantaro as part of the Fields Dynamite! New Year's Eve promotion. Mantaro is actually an anime character from the series Ultimate Muscle, though he'll be played by a Japanese wrestler named Akihito Tanaka. I'm still trying to figure out if this is history's first live man vs. anime character fight. Either way, it's impressive. Go get 'em, Beast!