Dave Morgan
Aaron Kennedy
Aaron Kennedy vs. Dave Morgan. COURTESY OF ART OF WAR CAGE FIGHTING
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Dave Morgan
Dave Morgan and Aaron Kennedy first met on the high school wrestling mat.
They never competed against each other, as the former wrestlers turned mixed martial artists have a nine-year age gap. However, Kennedy, a Honesdale graduate, recalls one constant when he saw the West Scranton and King’s College wrestling legend and former Scranton assistant coach in the early 2010s.
“I’d shake his hand after pinning his wrestler,” said Kennedy, who went 5-0 against Scranton opponents during his career from 2009 to 2012. “He’d look at me like this son of a (gun) beats us every time.”
Morgan’s response?
“That’s probably the worst crap talk I’ve ever heard,” Morgan said. “He better watch. Those are fighting words.”
The two former Lackawanna League wrestlers will meet again — this time with an MMA bantamweight title on the line.
Their bout is part of the Art of War Cage Fighting 43 card Saturday, Aug. 16 at Live! Casino & Hotel in Philadelphia. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first fight scheduled for 7.
“He’s a rising star. I don’t want to ruin Aaron’s life,” Morgan said. “I like the guy. I’m a fan of his. I enjoy it. They’re going to put me in a spot where it was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to put a belt on the line. You’re gonna fight Aaron Kennedy.’ And the way I look at it is why not? I don’t have anything to lose. It’s gonna be fun.”
Kennedy also respects Morgan, but has his eye on that belt.
“There’s not a lot of professional fighters over the years coming from our area, so it’s a cool thing,” Kennedy said. “It’s cool to see the both of us fighting at that level. It’s a shame I’ve got to knock him out.”
While their paths intersect, they took different routes to their destinations.
Morgan’s roadmap
At West Scranton from 2000 to 2004, Morgan was a two-time state medalist — fourth place as a sophomore and runner-up as a senior — and finished his career with 144 wins, which is still a program record.
He moved on to King’s, where he became a two-time Division III national champion (2007, 2008) and a three-time conference champion and finished with an 86-7 career record.
Meanwhile, his amateur MMA career kicked off in 2006. Four years later, he captured a title and entered the professional ranks. He has a 6-11 professional record, securing a belt in 2022. A year later, he tried to defend the title, but lost and retired … again.
“I retire every fight. I’ve been retiring the minute I started doing this,” Morgan, 40, said with a laugh. “I never even thought I’d be doing this, but I love to compete. I was on a great path. I fought these big main events in Atlantic City, and then my career kind of took a dive and I retired. I have a family, I joined the military, but I always kept my foot in the door and I kind of just became a journeyman.”
During his MMA career, Morgan moved away from Scranton for 10 years, but is back now and heavily involved in the wrestling community. An engineer in the National Guard, Morgan also serves as an instructor for the West Scranton Wrestling Alumni Junior Club, which is for kids from kindergarten to sixth grade (ages 5-12) and free for Scranton School District students.
“These guys have a great facility down there,” Morgan said. “It’s an awesome environment. We’re just a start-up, and it’s awesome to be involved.”
Kennedy’s course
Kennedy had a strong high school wrestling career, compiling 92 wins in three seasons with the Hornets and qualifying for regionals three times.
After graduating from Honesdale, he was ready to get into the octagon.
“I went to Bloomsburg University to wrestle, but pretty much as soon as I found out that we had an MMA gym in town I quit wrestling and started training there,” Kennedy, 31, said. “So, I started fighting as an amateur in college.”
He went 8-3 as an amateur, capturing a belt in 2017 before turning pro in 2018. After dropping his first two fights, Kennedy is on a five-match win streak.
Like Morgan, Kennedy also serves as a youth instructor at Bloomsburg Martial Arts Academy, where he also trains and helps with other classes. He also checks in on Honesdale wrestling, and a couple years ago, he did a seminar for the community.
“I wrestled since I was in first grade all the way up,” Kennedy said. “Those guys were good to me. If I didn’t have wrestling as a kid, I don’t know where I’d be now.”
The fight
Morgan is more impressed with Kennedy every time he watches film on him, but he welcomes the challenge.
“Every time I watched I think I can beat him, and now as I watch and the fight gets closer I’m like, ‘Oh man, this is gonna suck.’ But, this is why you fight,” Morgan said. “I’m putting myself in the fight. I don’t know what I have left in the tank, but I’m willing to shock the world.
“I want to end this thing on a high note with my kids in that cage and we’re all celebrating with a belt. And if it goes the other way, good for Aaron. But I don’t think that’s how it’s gonna happen.”
Kennedy won’t underestimate Morgan on the road to his sixth-straight victory and a title.
“He’s got 17 pro fights. Anybody who knows fighting will tell you that anybody with that many fights is tough, they’re a threat,” Kennedy said. “He’s a tough dude. He’s game. He’s fought a lot of high-level opponents. He’s not really scared to fight anybody.
“I know who he is, he knows who I am. He’s kind of called me out. He’s been wanting to fight me.”
If Morgan wins, he said he’ll once again retire.
“I’m leaving those gloves in that cage, and I’m walking out with that belt,” Morgan said.
Originally Published: August 9, 2025 at 12:00 AM EDT