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Bob "The Beast" Sapp is set to return in MMA after a year of hibernation to fight Kinniku Mantaro from the planet Kinniku.

From MMAWeekly:

K-1 on Monday announced that Bob Sapp will make his return to Japan one year to the day of his last appearance.

Adding him to the Fields Dynamite!! New Year's Eve event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, Sapp will face the mysterious Kinniku Mantaro in a mixed martial arts bout. Little is known about Mantaro and even the K-1 announcement contained no information about him.

As it turns out the 59th Successor to the Planet Kinniku Throne has been competing in wrestling tournaments here on Earth as Akihito Tanaka.

the person facing Sapp on New Year's Eve is Akihito Tanaka, a seven-time All Japan Wrestling champion. The bout with Sapp is being sponsored by the creators of the Japanese anime that features Kinniku Mantaro and Tanaka will actually wear a mask of the character when he fights.

Fighter preview after the jump.

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