Bobby Ologun

Bobby Ologun (ボビー・オロゴン) is a Nigerian-born television personality and mixed martial artist with Japanese citizenship.

In Japan, he is known simply as Bobby (ボビー).

He speaks English, Yoruba and Japanese.

He lives in Saitama, Saitama Prefecture.

In 2001, he worked a part-time job in the kitchen of a cafe in Daikanyama, Shibuya, while also first appearing in Sanma Akashiya's television program Sanma's Super Karakuri-TV on Tokyo Broadcasting System as a non-Tarento interviewee.

By the end of the year, he was regular on the popular skits featured on Karakuri-TV, The Funniest Language School, as a student.

Foreigners who have trouble speaking Japanese are often featured in Japanese variety shows, which may explain the immediate success of Ologun.

His frequent confusion (or feigned confusion) quickly made him an instant star on the Karakuri-TV show.

Some of his famous mistakes were:

Ologun also stands out for using politically incorrect, racially-charged humor, often capitalizing on stereotypes of African Americans.

He and fighting celebrity Bob Sapp were criticized for the perceived racism on their performances, but they defended it as part of the Japanese's cultural views towards humor.

Ologun and Sapp were reportedly hugely popular among African people living in Japan.

One of the running skits on Sanma's Super Karakuri TV featured Ologun attempting a variety of different jobs and skills in which he had no previous experience (he succeeded Tamao Nakamura in these skit performances).

Inspired from watching Bob Sapp vs Tarō Akebono on K-1 Dynamite!! on New Year's Eve in 2003, Ologun tried judo on Karakuri-TV.

Karakuri-TV's emcee, Sanma Akashiya (who had previously watched a VTR of Ologun struggling in the martial art and half-jokingly said, "Bobby might be able to take part in a combat sport event at the end of the year."), in reference to the New Year's Eve supershows put on by K-1, PRIDE, and Antonio Inoki's now defunct BOM-BA-YE promotion.

As a result, he tried various full contact combat sports on the program.

By February 2004, he was initiated into the Pancrase stable, "GRABAKA" and studied under its founder, Sanae Kikuta.

In March of that same year, he experienced a sparring match with MMA and Jiu-Jitsu legend Royce Gracie.

He lost, but Ologun performed better than expected, as he was able to cut Gracie and make him bleed from his forehead.

In a joke turned reality, he faced French kickboxer Cyril Abidi in K-1 Dynamite!!

at the Osaka Dome on December 31, 2004.

Billed as "The World's Most Dangerous Newcomer", Ologun won by three-round decision, and scored a surprise victory.

This match was the only pure MMA rules bout on that night's card, giving Ologun a slight advantage due to his training and the fact that his opponent, while an accomplished kickboxer, wasn't prepared for MMA style fighting.

Abidi was a last minute addition to the fight, Ologun's original opponent Mike Bernardo had to withdraw due to an injury.

Additionally, there was confusion to the rule system of the bout as the captions showed it to be the general kickboxing rules but ended up as an MMA contest.

Abidi was admonished for actions Ologun was doing repeatedly in the fight, such as mounted punches, which led fighting pundits to believe the fight was fixed.

Abidi himself hinted the fight was fixed in a post fight interview.

The Japanese media, which focused quite a bit of time on fighting events such as K-1 and PRIDE, soon dubbed Ologun Saikyō no Shirōto (The Strongest Amateur).

Ologun's next fight was against former Yokozuna, Akebono at K-1 Dynamite!!

on New Year's Eve 2005.

Akebono, who had a fighting record of 1-9 entering the fight, fiercely attacked Ologun in the first and second rounds.

However, Ologun steadily fought his way to another three-round decision.

His next fight was a kickboxing match in Sapporo at K-1 Revenge on July 30, 2006, where he fought Asian GP champion Yusuke Fujimoto.

Ologun earned the ire of the referee with unsportsmanlike conduct as he tripped and pushed over Fujimoto repeatedly, trying to punch at him afterward, and going for sucker punches after gesturing for a break, all of which led to a yellow card.

At the end of the 3rd round, he tripped Fujimoto one last time and then stood over him in an unsportsmanlike fashion.

Added to the knockdown he suffered in the first round, he lost his first fight and his first under K-1 rules by unanimous decision.

On July 26, 2007, he announced on Mezamashi TV that he had become a naturalized citizen of Japan, taking his wife's surname and registering officially as Bobby Konda (近田 ボビー).

He is currently working as the narrator for You wa Nani Shi ni Nippon e (YOUは何しに日本へ).

Ologun is the third brother in a family of thirty-one brothers and sisters.

After graduating from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, he came to Japan as an assistant to a trading company which his father manages.