Difference between revisions of "Aaron Kennedy"

Kennedy's first two professional fights, to Malek Mahmoud and Oscar Garcia, Jr., resulted in losses by unanimous decision. These early setbacks caused him to re-evaluate his training regimen and fighting style. As a result of his renewed determination, Kennedy began training to end every fight with decisive finishes to leave the judges no room for interpretation. His third fight was a unanimous decision over Steven Calero at Maverick MMA 21 in November 2022. All successive victories have been through knockouts or submissions.

In press interviews, Kennedy has compared this journey to that of a bamboo tree which takes five years to begin growing after it has been planted.

There was a significant press interest in the lead up to the fight for the vacant Art of War Bantamweight title because both Kennedy and his opponent, Dave Morgan, had previously been regional standouts in high school wrestling. Additionally, Morgan had been publicly baiting Kennedy through social media with taunts and insults. In response, Kennedy told the ''The Scranton Times-Tribune'', "It's a shame I've got to knock him out."

Kennedy dominated the fight from the beginning, drawing Morgan against the cage where he began delivering powerful knees to Morgan's head. Peterson stepped in and stopped the fight at 1:15 into the first round, leaving Kennedy to declare victory and accept the Bantamweight belt. Immediately after the result was announced, New Jersey-based MMA fighter Billy Markle stepped into the ring and challenged Kennedy for the belt. The two fighters then posed for a staredown photo and agreed to schedule Kennedy's first title defense in December.