Travis Lizotte "Full Contact Writer"
In January of this year, former New Hampshire State Wrestling Champion; David Burke (2014, 182 pounds, Exeter High School) walked into Devin Powell's Nostos MMA for the very first time. With a Wrestling background and a will to learn, Burke quickly developed into a formidable MMA athlete under the tutelage of Powell and his team at their 38 Market Street, Somersworth, New Hampshire Champion Factory; Nostos MMA. After just four short months of dedicated training Burke made his Amateur Middleweight debut this June at NEF 47, when he needed just :19 seconds to dispatch Titans Athletics' David McCarty (1-1) with ground and pound; following an emphatic slam to open the fight.
Burke made his second consecutive start for the New England Fights promotion just 8 weeks later with a one sided drubbing of 4 time Maine State High School Wrestling Champion; Ryan Fredette that finally saw Fredette succumb to Burke's strikes at 2:47 of round one. Burke then took his talents on the road in August, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he would look to prove that after just 7 months of training he was the top Amateur Middleweight in New England. Standing in his way; Cage Titans Amateur Middleweight Champion; Jideofor Ojukwu (4-1, Citadel MMA).
A Middleweight Championship bout that was scheduled for five, three minute rounds, would only end up needing :21 seconds to decide at Cage Titans 55. After an early barrage of punches from New Hampshire's Burke had Ojukwu "on roller skates" and Burke on the canvas from his momentum, Burke returned to his feet to find a "rocked" Jideofor, finishing him with a 1-2 that left the now former Champion out cold. Ojukwu awoke to find his belt around the waist of Burke, and a new king atop the New England MMA Amateur Middleweight division.
With the Cage Titans Amateur Middleweight belt now securely hanging on the Champion's wall at Nostos MMA, Burke and company began the search for the next proving ground. Already having proven to be the cream of the New England Middleweight crop, Burke now sets his sights on a bigger goal; proving he is the best Amateur 185'er in the entire Northeast. To do so, Burke put pen to paper and signed a contract to lock horns with Pennsylvania's #1 ranked Middleweight, and Tapology.com's #2 ranked Middleweight in the Northeast; Johnny "Johnny Garb" Garbarino (6-3) in a Middleweight feature December 10th at Art of War 27: World War 3, in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
A native of South Philadelphia, 27 year old Johnny Garb has developed somewhat of a cult following over his nine Amateur fights throughout Philadelphia and its' surrounding suburbs, collecting six victories along the way, including four finishes and the State's top Middleweight ranking. A quick look at tape on Johnny Garb and he is just what you would expect from a fighter born and bred in the heart of Philadelphia, a tough kid with an appetite to brawl. Garbarino has also proven impossible to finish, as his three career losses have been decided at the judges table. However, Johnny Garb has never been locked inside the cage with a Middleweight specimen quite like that of David Burke, who's Modus Operandi is to bring violence from the word; Go!
When the pin drops on a David Burke fight, time is not on your side, as his fight footage could easily be grouped with those "lion vs. gazelle" videos you kids watch online. Stalk, Pounce, Kill. That is all Burke knows, and his just over three minutes of Amateur cage time has looked nothing short of predatory, as the unblemished Nostos product has never encountered as much as traction from any of his first three victims. Burke looks to turn the page on his "rookie year" 2022 with another dominant thrashing Saturday December 10th, from Garbarino's back yard. This fight promises to be "all gas and no brakes" as 6-3 Johnny Garb welcomes 3-0 David Burke to the "Iladelph" at Art of War 27.
