FORMER CES MMA World Featherweight Champion Matt Bessette recaptured the title for a second time last night in the main event of CES MMA 60 on UFC FIGHT PASS from Twin River Casino Hotel in Rhode Island. Bessette defeated Charles Cheeks III via third-round knockout for his second consecutive win. The victory comes nearly four years after he won the title for the first time in 2016.

Saturday, January 25, 2020
 
One-two combo puts Bessette back on top of featherweight division
“The Mangler” lands the knockout blow at 4:01 of the third round to capture world title at CES MMA 60
LINCOLN, RI – The second time was twice as nice for CES MMA World Featherweight Champion Matt Bessette.
The Hartford, CT, native captured the promotion’s 145-pound title for the second time in nearly four years with a third-round knockout win Friday over Houston’s Charles Cheeks III (14-8) in the main event of CES MMA 60 on UFC FIGHT PASS® from Twin River Casino Hotel.
Bessette (24-9, 8 KOs), the former world champion who vacated his title upon his promotion to the UFC, returned to the arena where he originally won the belt in 2016 and flattened Cheeks at the 4:01 mark of Round 3 with a two-punch combo punctuated by a right hand to the chin.
The win lifted Bessette’s record to 24-9. It was also his eighth victory with CES MMA in nine bouts and his second in a row since returning to the promotion in March. He previously won the title at CES MMA 37 against Joe Pingitore and has now won nine of his last 11 overall dating back to 2015.



In the co-main event, Providence’s Greg Rebello (26-7, 17 KOs) answered questions on his imminent retirement with a second-round knockout win over Indiana’s Jordan Mitchell (8-14) to reclaim his CES MMA World Heavyweight Championship.
After controlling the opening round, Rebello scored another takedown early in the second and finished Mitchell with unanswered blows from the mount, prompting the referee to stop the bout at the 1:07 mark. In his post-fight interview with FIGHT PASS color commentator Tom Lawlor, Rebello said “this will be the last time you see me in this cage,” indicating he will, in fact, retire after 15 years in professional mixed martial arts.



Facing his toughest test to date, New York welterweight John Gotti III (5-0) passed with flying colors to keep his perfect record intact in CES MMA 60’s special attraction. Having won each of his first four fights by first-round knockout, Gotti went three rounds with tough Miami veteran Marcos Lloreda (7-6) and earned a 29-28, 30-27, 30-27. Gotti showed poise throughout and escaped two submission attempts in the final round and won the majority of exchanges in the early rounds.
Fighting for the promotion’s first Flyweight World Championship, Blaine Shutt (8-4) of Pennsylvania made history with a 50-44, 45-50, 49-46 split decision win over regional favorite Johnny Lopez (12-5) of Connecticut.



Both fighters boasted strong wrestling and grappling backgrounds, which led to healthy dose of clinching and submission attempts with neither fighter separating themselves in the early rounds. Shutt did his best work in the fourth and fifth to earn the narrow victory.
Also on the main card, bantamweight Ashiek Ajim (3-0, 2 KOs) of New York wore down Andres Rodriguez (4-1) before landing the knockout blow at 3:45 of the third round. Rodriguez started strong, but Ajim remained the aggressor and began taking control of the fight in the second. The third round continued with Ajim further chipping away at his opponent before landing back-to-back combos to send Rodriguez crashing to the canvas for good.
Connecticut-based light heavyweight William Knight (6-1, 6 KOs) got back in the win column with a third-round knockout win over Rocky Edwards (10-9-1), a solid ending to an otherwise quiet fight. Knight escaped trouble in the second round and finally flattened Edwards with an overhand right at 2:56 of the third, his best punch of the night. Knight has now won all six of his fights by knockout.
Flyweight Richie Santiago (8-2) of Milford opened the FIGHT PASS stream with an impressive win over New York’s Giorgi Kudukhashvili (5-4), utilizing his ground-and-pound to earn the stoppage at the 1:15 mark of the second round. Santiago looked overwhelmed in the first before a critical takedown in the second shifted the momentum.
On the preliminary card, Central Falls, RI, bantamweight Thomas Evans (3-3) dropped Vermont’s Johnny Adams (1-5) with a body blow 51 seconds into the second round for his first with CES MMA in three tries and his first in seven years. Lightweight Eddie George (1-0, 1 KO) of West Haven made quick work of Raymond Yanez (4-13), scoring the knockout in his professional debut just 21 seconds into the opening round.
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