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Q/A: South Philly’s John Garbarino on Newfound Recognition, and Staying Focused and Humble in Pursuit of a Bare Knuckle Title
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Nobody had a bigger or better Knucklemania than Philly native John Garbarino, who checked off the boxes both inside and outside of the ring.
It started when he smashed a cannoli over his opponent’s head at weigh-ins, drawing animated laughter from an exuberant Conor McGregor and giving flippant sports blogs like this one a viral moment to write about. Then he went out and KO’d that opponent in the first round before proposing to his girlfriend in front a record combat sports crowd at Wells Fargo Center.
When it comes to Philly athlete break outs, you can’t write a better script than what Johnny Cannoli provided last winter.
He’s back for Knucklemania 6, coming up on February 7th inside of the same arena, but a few things have changed.
Now Garbarino is largely a household name in these parts, and his opponent is Kaine Tomlinson Jr., the guy who savagely knocked out fellow South Philadelphian Pat Sullivan at Knucklemania 5. You can make a case this is the most intriguing fight on the card for the revenge angle alone, Tomlinson stating in a recent promotional video that Garbarino is carrying on his shoulders a city of “fat ass, cheesesteak-eating bottom feeders.” More than 600,000 people watched the clip in less than 24 hours, so the hype is there, and the fight is being sold so well outside of the ring that you sometimes forget the fact that Johnny Garb is 3-0 in BKFC and a legitimate title challenger at middleweight.
We caught up with him at BKFC media workouts ahead of the big event.
Crossing Broad: The atmosphere last year was awesome. What do you think about doing this again in 2026?
John Garbarino: I’m excited. It’s exhilarating, it’s electric when you go in there. I don’t know any other adjectives to compare to what I’m feeling when I go in there (laughs). It’s an incredible walk, and a walk of faith if you’re religious or believe in god. It’s an important moment for me to connect with that side, my spiritual self, and it’s really awesome that I get to do this. I can’t really explain it, I can’t put it into words. It’s a surreal feeling.
CB: A lot happened last year. We didn’t know who you were. You came onto the scene big time, got a big win, the cannoli thing went viral, and you proposed. But it’s different in 2026. What’s your attitude and mindset going into it this time, compared to last year?
Garbarino: I remember eight years ago when I had just started my amateur career in MMA, I used to go around with little posters and ask people, sometimes beg people, to put my poster up in their window. A lot of times they would refuse to do it. And other times they would, locals who would support me or who knew who I was. But it’s a great feeling knowing that I have the support of the city, support nationally, and support internationally. When I was in Italy last year, after the Firenze card (BKFC went to Florence last April), and people were coming up to me and pouring (drinks) on a little island (off the Napoli coast) and they knew exactly who I was. Some people even had my shirt on. So that was an amazing feeling. And just the other day, I’m driving on the Walt Whitman Bridge, there was a giant billboard with me, Conor McGregor, and Pat Brady. I didn’t have to buy it, didn’t have to promote it, I didn’t even know it was going up. For that, I’m very grateful and feeling like I’m in a blessed position for people to know who I am and to get some recognition for the hard work I’ve been doing behind closed doors for a long time.
CB: Is it a challenge to see a level of success and stay humble and motivated through that?
Garbarino: I’m my number one critic. It can be good and bad. I’ve had a losses in MMA and in Jiu Jitsu competitions and when things like that happen, I tend to get down on myself a lot. I have high standards and high goals. I raise the bar for myself every single day. If I’m not improving more than I did yesterday, some way or another – am I making more money, meeting new people, making new business contacts, learning a new punch or getting more efficient at something, maybe learning how to not over-train? Any which way you can better yourself is really important. That in itself has been difficult to manage. But people don’t get me nervous. People look up to me in a lot of ways, because if everyone could do the job I’m doing in front of the world, they would be doing it, you know? I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way or anything like that, but I’m not saving lives. There are doctors out there and they’re amazing and doing a real job. I’m doing something for fun and entertainment and I just appreciate that I can make money doing something I really care about. I really enjoy this.
CB: Last year was BKFC’s first time doing this at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Eddie Alvarez was the headliner and there was a big local draw. But it did well to the point where you wonder now if it’s returning fans, or those fans bringing friends with them, or even people who missed out last year and want to go this year.
Garbarino: Well it’s interesting you say that considering we’re in Eddie’s gym right now. Eddie came from nothing and now he has this beautiful Underground Kings facility. It’s a Mecca for all different types of fighters. Growing up, I really looked up to him. I didn’t know him, but I was a big fan. As I came up through the MMA scene, I got close with Eddie, learned Eddie, he learned me, and he would come to the shows and he actually used to corner (current UFC fighter) Joe Pyfer and I’d be sharing a locker room with him because we were on the same team. It’s just really cool to see everything come full circle. I used to look up to Eddie and now he’s pretty much retired. I don’t know if he’s gonna take another fight or not. But it’s cool that I made my debut on the same night that may have been his last fight for Bare Knuckle.
CB: It’s definitely a full-circle moment.
Garbarino: Like a passing of the torch, or something similar. He’s a great friend of mine. Even more than a friend, he’s an idol and a mentor to me. I don’t talk to him every day or call him every day, but when I do the guy always makes time for me in his busy schedule. All of the businesses he has, attention he has, he makes time for me and I appreciate that and to have him in my corner for support.
CB: You ask these guys here (at the gym) and nobody is really surprised that Knucklemania did well last year. There’s always been a good underground scene here, it just needed booking at the big arena. UFC was here in 2018 and will go to Atlantic City occasionally, but there’s not much otherwise. Is it fair to say that last year was a breakthrough moment for combat sports in Philly?
Garbarino: Yeah, and I think it always has been here. Philadelphians have always street fought. (BKFC President) David Feldman has given every street fighter a real opportunity to make a name for themselves, and that’s never been done before, to this level. People are bare knuckle boxing in underground places all the time, but he’s turned it into a real opportunity for someone to have a real shot in the fight game and grow in the sport. No one’s willing to do what we do, or, well, maybe a special 1%, but a lot of the UFC guys aren’t going to take the gloves off.
CB: It takes a certain kind of athlete to do this.
Garbarino: And half of these guys aren’t even athletes. Some guys are steelworkers (or blue-collar workers), they just love to fight. That being said, they’re special people and they’re different types of people who are built a little stronger and built a little tougher than the average person. They’re not normal athletes is what I’m trying to say. You can get an athlete who is groomed from a little baby into a UFC star with all the skill sets, but he’s not going to have the toughness or the grind or grit that the Philadelphia guy has off the street or around the world from these rough cities.
CB: The Kaine Tomlinson Jr. fight – how much do you look at the revenge angle with what happened to Pat last year? I’m sure you don’t need much in the way of extra motivation, but there’s a storyline here.
Garbarino: I’ve got motivation because I’m motivated. My only goal is to do this 100%. I will be a world champion, it’s just a matter of time. Hopefully it’s this year. If god wants it this way it’ll happen that way. Regardless, I don’t see anybody in this division that has my skill set or the will to get the job done like I do. (The revenge angle) is just like the icing on the cake. It’s a little bit of an extra push knowing that this guy beat a friend of mine, another South Philly guy. I feel like I got a job to do, to defend his honor and get him back. It’s like an eye for an eye. All of that being said, I’m doing this for me, 100%. He’s an obstacle. He’s not a roadblock. I’m going right through him, or around him, whatever I have to do, then go to the next level and the next guy and get the belt.
Knucklemania 6 is February 7th at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The lower bowl is mostly sold out, but upper bowl tickets start around $50 and there are some pit and corner tickets available on Ticketmaster. Last year’s event had more than 17,000 people on hand.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com