#3 David Gardner says hello to Japan....and a rear naked choke
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We travel over to the Land of the Rising Sun for our next example. In 2009, Shinya Aoki was widely recognised as one of the best Lightweights on the planet, a grappling whiz capable of catching seemingly anyone in a submission.
To end 2008, he’d tapped out Eddie Alvarez with a heel hook, and some fans wondered if he could even beat the UFC’s kingpin, BJ Penn.
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Sadly for the fans, Aoki was signed with Japanese promotion DREAM, which meant fights with the UFC’s best – and for the most part, the best fighters outside the UFC too – were off the table. Instead, a great number of his fights came against journeymen like Todd Moore and Katsuhiko Nagata.
David Gardner was one such journeyman.
A pro fighter since 2002, Gardner had wins over the likes of Rich Clementi and Ryan Schultz but had usually lost to his better opponents and it didn’t seem like he’d ever make it to the top level. Desperate for warm bodies to feed Aoki though, DREAM signed him up in early 2009.
This was Gardner’s big opportunity. Beat Aoki, or even perform well against him, and a further DREAM contract or even a UFC stint could’ve been on the table. That’s why what he actually did is totally mystifying.
After an early exchange, Aoki shot for a takedown and pulled guard before snaking himself onto Gardner’s back. To his credit, Gardner initially defended Aoki’s attempts at a rear-naked choke quite well. Eventually, though, he ended up in a kneeling position with Aoki stuck to his back.
We’ll probably never know what went through Gardner’s head. Rather than continue to defend the choke, he looked out on the crowd and in a truly comedic moment, decided to wave to them and yell “Hello Japan!”
The word “Japan” had barely even left Gardner’s lips before Aoki sunk in a deep rear-naked choke, the opportunity opened wide due to Gardner’s ludicrous wave. Gardner was forced to tap out and Aoki easily picked up the victory.
Commentator Bas Rutten labelled Gardner’s behaviour, “so, so dumb!” and I’d have to agree. It makes for a hell of a funny video, though – perhaps even better than Joe Harding’s botched showboating!
