Before Rhode Island’s Joe “Lights Out” Pingitore returns to action versus Hawaii’s Spencer Higa at CES MMA 40 on November 23 at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., he sat down with Pro MMA Now to discuss this fight and his last outing, a CES MMA title bout on AXS TV Fights.
Do you know much about your opponent?
No. It doesn’t really matter at this point. This will be my first opponent from outside the local circuit who I’m fighting, but I don’t know much about him.
What did you take away from your last fight, a loss when you fought Matt Bessette for the CES MMA Featherweight Championship on AXS TV Fights?
Every day I step on the mat, I think about that fight. I just blew it. I came up short, you know?
But a lot of people wrote you off before the fight happened and you gave Bessette, the champ, a real run for his money. Do you take away that as a positive?
Yeah, definitely. But I always knew my potential. I knew that I was going to beat him. I proved that when I went out there and put it on him. I made a mistake and got caught. It happens, but I’m learning from it. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to keep moving forward.
How much better will you be when we see you fight on November 23?
I think I will rise to the occasion, like I always have. This fight will be no different than I have in the past. I don’t know much about him. I’m not going to underestimate him. But I’m going to go out there and put it on him, just like I put it on Bessette. No more decisions.
What comes next, after this fight?
I’m not really even thinking about that right now. I’m just focused on Spencer Higa and taking him out November 23 at Twin River Casino. After that, I’m going to do that again to whoever they line me up against.