Matt Bessette
| Matt Bessette | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Matthew James Bessette December 28, 1984[1] Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
| Other names | The Mangler |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) |
| Division |
Featherweight (145 lb) Lightweight (155 lb) |
| Reach | 67.0 in (170 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
| Team | Underdog Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Trainer |
Stand-up: Russell Leak[1] BJJ: Fabiano Teles |
| Rank | Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Fabiano Teles[1] |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 25 |
| Wins | 18 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 7 |
| Losses | 7 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 4 |
| By disqualification | 1 |
| University | University of Hartford |
| Notable school(s) | Stafford High School |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Matt Bessette (born December 28, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Featherweight division.
Background
Bessette was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was diagnosed with leukemia on August 13, 1988 at the age of three and was hospitalized for it. The doctors gave him 50% chance of survival, but became more optimistic after the initial treatments, which reduced significantly the leukemic cells. Bessette also developed asthma at an early age, although that never prevented him from competing in sports such as baseball, basketball, soccer, and football. After graduating from Stafford High School in 2003, Bessette attended the University of Hartford. While still in the university, he was introduced to mixed martial arts at the age of 22 and graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree.[1]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Bessette started his professional career in 2007. He fought mainly for Connecticut-based promotion Reality Fighting.
Bessette faced Anthony Kaponis on October 9, 2010 at Reality Fighting: Eruption for the vacant lightweight title. He defeated Kaponis via split decision in a five-round bout.[2]
Bessette was set to make his first title defense against Joe Proctor on October 8, 2011 at Reality Fighting: Gonzaga vs. Porter. He lost his title via unanimous decision after five rounds.[3]
In 2012, Bessette signed with Bellator.[4]
Bellator MMA
Bessette made his promotional debut against Saul Almeida on March 30, 2012 at Bellator 63. He won via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).[5]
Bessette faced The Ultimate Fighter 12 competitor Paul Barrow on November 16, 2012 at Bellator 81. He won via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).[6]
Bessette faced Nick Piedmont on September 7, 2013 at Bellator 98. He won via knockout early in the first round.[7]
Bessette faced Diego Nunes in the quarterfinal match of Bellator Season Ten Featherweight Tournament on February 28, 2014 at Bellator 110.[8] He won the back-and-forth fight via split decision.
Bessette faced Daniel Weichel in the tournament semifinals at Bellator 114 on March 28, 2014. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Bessette faced Scott Cleve on September 5, 2014 at Bellator 123. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[9]
Bessette faced Josh LaBerge at Bellator 134 on February 27, 2015.[10] He won the fight due to a doctor stoppage between the second and third rounds.
After a two fight stint with CES MMA, Bessette returned to Bellator and faced Kevin Roddy at Bellator 144 on October 23, 2015. He won via submission with a heel hook in the first round.[11]
Bessette faced Keith Richardson at Bellator 153 on April 22, 2016. He won in the second round due to a doctor stoppage.[12]
CES MMA
Bessette made his promotional debut on June 12, 2015 in the co-main event of CES MMA 29 against Kharma Worthy. He won via knockout in the second round.[13] He returned for CES MMA 30 on August 14, 2015 against Lenny Wheeler. He lost via knockout in the first round, making it the first time in his career that he was knocked out.[14] After a return to Bellator, Bessette returned to CES MMA on March 11, 2016 to face Taurean Bogguess at CES MMA 33. He won via submission with a triangle choke in the first round.[15] He was originally scheduled to fight Tito Jones, but Jones backed out three days before the event due to injury.[16]
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- Reality Fighting
- RF Lightweight Championship (one time)[2]
- Global Fight League
- GFL Lightweight Championship (one time)[17]
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 25 matches | 18 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 1 |
| By submission | 6 | 1 |
| By decision | 7 | 4 |
| By disqualification | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 18–7 | Keith Richardson | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Bellator 153 | April 22, 2016 | 2 | 3:14 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 17–7 | Taurean Bogguess | Submission (triangle choke) | CES MMA 33: Soukhamthath vs. Nordby | March 11, 2016 | 1 | 2:41 | Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States | |
| Win | 16–7 | Kevin Roddy | Submission (heel hook) | Bellator 144 | October 23, 2015 | 1 | 3:47 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Loss | 15–7 | Lenny Wheeler | KO (punches) | CES MMA 30: Felix vs. Lane | August 14, 2015 | 1 | 0:39 | Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States | |
| Win | 15–6 | Khama Worthy | KO (punch) | CES MMA 29: O'Neil vs. Steele | June 12, 2015 | 2 | 2:42 | Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States | |
| Win | 14–6 | Josh LaBerge | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Bellator 134 | February 27, 2015 | 2 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Loss | 13–6 | Scott Cleve | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 123 | September 5, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Loss | 13–5 | Daniel Weichel | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 114 | March 28, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | West Valley City, Utah, United States | Bellator Season Ten Featherweight Tournament Semifinal |
| Win | 13–4 | Diego Nunes | Decision (split) | Bellator 110 | February 28, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Bellator Season Ten Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal |
| Win | 12–4 | Nick Piedmont | KO (punches) | Bellator 98 | September 7, 2013 | 1 | 1:41 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Drops down to Featherweight.[7] |
| Win | 11–4 | Jeff Anderson | Decision (unanimous) | Reality Fighting: New Year's Bash | January 5, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | 150 lb Catchweight bout.[18] |
| Win | 10–4 | Paul Barrow | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 81 | November 16, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Kingston, Rhode Island, United States | |
| Win | 9–4 | Aniss Alhajjajy | Decision (unanimous) | Reality Fighting: Naples vs. Lee | September 22, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Loss | 8–4 | Andres Jeudi | DQ (illegal upkick) | Reality Fighting: Mohegan Sun | June 2, 2012 | 3 | 4:43 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 8–3 | Saul Almeida | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 63 | March 30, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |
| Loss | 7–3 | Joe Proctor | Decision (unanimous) | Reality Fighting: Gonzaga vs. Porter | October 8, 2011 | 5 | 5:00 | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | Lost RF Lightweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–2 | John Benoit | Submission (guillotine choke) | GFL 10: Benoit vs. Bessette | April 15, 2011 | 2 | 4:59 | Lowell, Massachusetts, United States | Won GFL Lightweight Championship. |
| Win | 6–2 | Anthony Kaponis | Decision (split) | Reality Fighting: Eruption | October 9, 2010 | 5 | 5:00 | Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States | Won RF Lightweight Championship. |
| Win | 5–2 | Andrew Amaral | Submission (guillotine choke) | Reality Fighting: Ignition | July 17, 2010 | 2 | 3:30 | Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Win | 4–2 | Andrew Carron | Decision (unanimous) | Reality Fighting: Ferocity | November 7, 2009 | 3 | 4:00 | Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Chris Chappell | Submission (guillotine choke) | FFP: Untamed 26 | February 28, 2009 | 3 | 2:13 | Westport, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Jeff Camera | TKO (punches) | Reality Fighting: Collision | July 19, 2008 | 2 | 2:18 | Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Win | 2–1 | Andres Lebron | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Reality Fighting: Nightmare | April 12, 2008 | 2 | 2:45 | Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Bill Jones | Decision (split) | Reality Fighting: Annihilation | January 19, 2008 | 3 | 3:00 | Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Chris Correira | Submission (guillotine choke) | Reality Fighting: Invictus | September 15, 2007 | 3 | N/A | Concord, New Hampshire, United States |
References
- 1 2 3 4 David J. Bessette. "Matt Bessette's biography". Mattbessette.net. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- 1 2 "Reality Fighting: Eruption official results". Mixedmartialarts.com. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ↑ Alvin Benjamin Carter III (October 8, 2011). "Local Scene: Carter's live report – Reality Fighting at Mohegan Sun". MMAtorch.com. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ↑ Press release (March 27, 2013). "Bellator 63 stacked with local talent on March 30". Fightnetwork.com. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ↑ Brian Knapp (March 30, 2012). "Amoussou, Baker, Rickels, Saunders advance to welterweight semis at Bellator 63". Sherdog.com. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ↑ Brian Knapp (November 16, 2012). "Marcin Held, Dave Jansen punch tickets to lightweight final at Bellator 81". Sherdog.com. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- 1 2 MMAjunkie.com staff (September 7, 2013). "Bellator 98 results: Shlemenko retains title in slugfest with Cooper". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ↑ MMAjunkie.com staff (January 24, 2014). "Pairings revealed for featherweight-tourney opening round at Bellator 110". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ↑ "Bellator 123 results: 'Pitbull' Freire gets revenge, takes title from Pat Curran". mmajunkie.com. September 5, 2014.
- ↑ "Bellator 134 prelims: 'The Silencer,' 'The Freight Train,' 'The Irish Bad Boy,' 'The Barn Cat'". mmajunkie.com. February 5, 2015.
- ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/2015/10/bellator-144-live-video-stream-and-official-results-7-p-m-et
- ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/2016/04/bellator-153-results
- ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/2015/06/ces-29-video-highlights-a-welterweight-title-fight-upset-and-a-thrashed-jaw
- ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/2015/08/ces-mma-30-video-highlights-luis-felix-gets-payback-plus-a-39-second-ko
- ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/2016/03/ces-mma-33-results-andre-soukhamthath-wins-title-with-incredible-flying-knee-ko
- ↑ http://themmareport.com/2016/02/matt-bessette-vs-tito-jones-booked-for-ces-mma-33/
- ↑ "GFL 10 results: Matt 'The Mangler' Bessette wins lightweight title". MMAmadman.com. April 16, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- ↑ "Matt Bessette vs. Jeff Anderson (Reality Fighting: New Year's Bash)". Tapology.com. Retrieved November 9, 2013.