Blogs

The victory outside of the cage may always be the biggest for Hartford's Matt Bessette.

He's won 14 times as a professional in mixed martial arts, many under the bright lights of national television on the sport's biggest stage, but the 30-year-old featherweight has gained crossover appeal for battling and conquering Leukemia at a young age.

Open and honest about his struggles as a child -- the doctor's visits, the sleepless nights with his mother at his bedside --Bessette has drawn a new legion of fans both in and out of the MMA community, a concept he still struggles to grasp every now and then.

"Every time someone reaches out to me," Bessette said, "I think to myself, 'Who the hell am I? I'm just a fighter.'"

But to many, he's more than just "The Mangler," the name most people know him as on fight night. To the young college student with Leukemia whom he visited on campus at the University of Connecticut, or the countless others whose day he's brightened with something as simple as a reply, Bessette is an inspiration, an example of how life's roadblocks don't always have to derail your dreams.

"It's inspiring for me, too," said Bessette, who returns to the cageFriday, June 12^th, 2015 on the main card of "CES MMA XXIX" live from Twin River Casino on AXS TV, "but at the same time, I'm lucky to be here myself. We're all in this together."