Matt “The Mangler” Bessette: “The Best Is Yet To Come”

Matt “The Mangler” Bessette recently spoke with FightBook MMA about successfully reclaiming his CES MMA Featherweight Championship at CES 60 and what’s next for the UFC vet.

How would you describe CES 60 in one word?

MANGLERMANIA

How did it feel to reclaim your championship?

Familiar. Even though I was away from CES for a few fights and hadn’t fought for the CES title since 2017, it felt like I hadn’t skipped a beat. I’m glad to be back fighting for CES and representing the best MMA community in the world: Northeast MMA. The belt is back where it belongs.

In terms of the great moments of your career, where does CES 60 land?

Way at the top, for sure! Regaining my crown, fighting alongside my good friend Johnny Lopez for the first time, headlining the card in which Greg Rebello fought his last fight, fighting my first fight as a father to my daughter, having a full time job as a Correction Officer while training for a fight at insane hours, and then getting a walk off knockout to put a staple on an awesome night of fights … yeah, that’s definitely one of the highlights of my career.

When would you like to fight next?

Soon. I am not a bench warmer!

Where would you like to be one year from today?

I just wanna be happy, doing what I love and being around other happy, like-minded individuals.

Is there anything you’d like to say to the MMA world while you have this chance?

The best is yet to come.