At Dream 7, American MMA soup can David Gardner discovered how the Japanese reply to a mid-bout salutation courtesy of top-tier Lightweight and WAMMA Champion Shinya Aoki: They choke you.
Sherdog.com journalist Tony Loiseleur recounted the 5:58 second match, citing that "[Gardner] made the mistake of waving to the crowd and yelling 'Hi, Japan,' instead of defending against the choke." Clearly, Gardner failed to read up on his distinguished opponent.
Aoki dominates as Japan's premiere submission specialist with 12 of his 20 wins coming as such. Two of his 12 submission victories came by Gogoplata, his first against Joachim Hansen considered the first successful Gogoplata in MMA bout history.
The buzz began for Aoki when he defeated Keith Wisniewski by flying armbar at a Jan. 29 Shooto event, a feat that popularized his nickname "Tobikan Judan," or "master of flying submissions" and was matched in scale only by Rumina Sato.
Standing 5'11" and weighing between 155 and 167 pounds, Aoki's victory this weekend brings his record to 20-3, securing his position as the No. 1 Lightweight MMA fighter in the world.
It may come as a surprise that the lithe grappler and part founder of Nippon Top Team warrants such praise, considering the monolithic shadow that UFC contenders cast across the globe, but don't even begin to think Aoki is a paper tiger.
With wins over Eddie Alvarez, Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante, and Joachim Hansen, all ranked as Top-Ten Lightweights, Aoki figures as the new face of MMA in Japan, replacing Gomi who has seemed inept in his latest performances.
Gomi's rapid and unfortunate descent from his tenured No. 2 Lightweight spot opened the door for Aoki to gain recognition for his technical and imaginative grappling precision.
After losing to Sergey Golyaev, Gomi ceded his No. 2 spot to Aoki who secured his position with a stunning first round submission victory over Alvarez at K-1 Dynamite! Power of Courage.
Aoki, seemingly cemented his No. 1 spot when B.J. Penn lost to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94.
Winning his upcoming contests in the Dream 8 Welterweight Tournament will definitely solidify his No. 1 status, given that Penn loses his next bout, which will supposedly be against Kenny Florian.
However, Aoki's success in weight malleability has already subverted Penn's trials with his series of wins and his status as reigning Middleweight Champion of the Shooto organization.
Aoki's ascent has also re-opened the door for the latent variety of Japanese MMA fighters—the grapplers.
There has been no lack of famed Japanese brawlers in MMA, with the likes of Gomi, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, and Hayato Sakurai trading on their feet or flooring their opponents for ferocious ground-and-pound.
But not since Kazushi Sakuraba has there been a preeminent grappler displaying Aoki's brand of aggression and technical prowess in MMA.
In fact, Aoki has allied himself with two other premiere grapplers of Japan in Masakazu Imanari and Satoru Kitaoka—both champions in their own right—and has founded Nippon Top Team.
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