In no other sport does losing hurt worse…

A loss in MMA hurts worse than a loss in any other sport. While a loss in baseball, basketball or even football may sting the pride, it doesn’t hurt as much as MMA losses do. In MMA, not only does a defeated athlete have to deal with a blow to his pride, they also have to deal with literal blows to their face and ribs. In other words, not only does an MMA fighter lose, they get beat up.

There is no athletic endeavor more closely related to a fight than mixed martial arts. While there are differences between MMA and a legitimate street fight, it is the closest organized sport to an actual fight. Not only that, but fighters are practicing their craft in front of tens of thousands of fans live in the building and hundreds of thousands more watching on television. For some fighters, it’s not uncommon to have an embarrassing loss witnessed by over a million people.

Imagine if everytime LeBron James lost a basketball game it meant millions of onlookers saw Steph Curry punch him in the face repeatedly before a referee steps in. That loss would become significantly more embarrassing for him, now wouldn’t it?

In this article, we break down the top 10 most embarrassing losses in MMA history.

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10. David Gardner Says Hello to Japan

Team Quest fighter, David Gardner, made one mistake in 2009 that would end up on MMA highlight reels for years to come. Gardner was facing Shinya Aoki at Dream 7 and decided it was a good time to say hello to Japan.

Gardner popped his head and neck up in an attempt to wave hello to the fans in attendance at the event and Aoki promptly choked him out for his efforts.

He can’t be blamed too much for being taken aback by the live crowd. Almost 20,000 people crammed into the Saitama Super Arena for the show which also featured the MMA debut of a young Joe Warren.

Gardner’s MMA career never really recovered from the mistake. Following his loss to Aoki, Gardner went on a 2-10 run which included a loss to a young Tony Ferguson in 2010. His career ended after a 6 fight losing skid from 2010 to 2012.

Aoki wasn’t able to capitalize much after the win. At Dream 8 the next month, he was knocked out in just 27 seconds by Hayato Sakurai. He’d never lose another fight in Dream, however, including a win over Antonio McKee at Dream 18. He’s fought only twice in the last two years, however, dropping both bouts. He lost to Ben Askren in November at ONE 63 and lost to Eduard Folayang in his bout before that at ONE 45.

David “Hello Japan” Gardner would finish his pro MMA career with an 18W-21L record and a badly damaged ego. Considering he started his career on a 6W-1L stretch, his career record is not exactly something to be proud of.

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Ian is a MMA writer based out of Toronto, ON Canada. An avid mixed martial arts enthusiast and passionate fan since he was born, Ian has been writing about mixed martial arts for over 5 years.