Joe Pingitore’s career outside the cage can get as extreme as saving lives. When he enters the confines of competition, however, his goal is to inflict damage on another human being, which is quite the contrast.
Pingitore (6-2-1), who fights Matt Bessette (19-7) for the vacant CES MMA featherweight title at Friday’s CES MMA 37 event, works as an emergency medical technician (EMT) as his primary means of living. When he’s not doing that, though, Pingitore is in the gym training for his career as a professional fighter.
Although one job requires him to help people and the other requires him to hurt people, Pingitore said there’s no strangeness or inner conflict to his situation.
“It’s weird, but I don’t really think about it like that,” Pingitore told MMAjunkie. “I’ve done sports all my life, and this sport I just happen to be really good at it. I never really mixed the two together. It’s not like I’m bringing in patients and deciding to throw down with them in the ER.
“They kind of compliment each other in a way,” he continued. “You’re in there fighting in a cage with a lot of emotions, and sometimes when you’re with a patient there can be a lot of emotions, but it comes down to relying on your skills. It’s pretty much the same thing either way.”
CES MMA 37 takes place at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. The card airs on AXS TV, with the vacant 145-pound title bout between Pingitore and Bessette set to serve as the co-main event.
According to Pingitroe, 25, his weekly schedule involves between 40 and 50 hours of EMT work, typically the graveyard shift from midnight to 8 a.m. After that, he rests before heading off to MMA training. That’s been the routine for the entirety of his more than four-year career, and so far it’s worked out quite well for him.
He credits his employers and supporting cast in his life for their flexibility and support as he pursues multiple career paths.
“They help me as much as they can as far as if I need time off for sparring and training,” Pingitore said. “I’ll get a few days off for weigh-ins and a few days before that. A lot of people come to my fights that work for me. Before that, I was in construction, and it killed my body. It’s brutal on the body going into practice after that, it’s too much. I’m glad I have this other career.”
Barring any serious injuries in the fight, Pingitore intends to be back at work the Monday after his fight. He hopes to be riding the high of the most significant victory of his career in a fight that came together on just two days’ notice. Pingitore was originally scheduled to face Bill Jones at the event, but when Stephen Cerventes was pulled from the card due to a legal issue, he was offer the co-headlining slot against Bessette.
“This is the biggest fight of my career by far,” Pingitore said. “When I started with CES MMA, the goal was to get that title. That’s why I jumped at it when Matt’s opponent backed out. He’s been exposed that he’s mortal, just like the rest of us. That’s why I know this fight isn’t going to go five rounds; all it’s going to take is one heavy right hand. He’s had his reign at the – now it’s my time.”
Bessette will enter the vacant title contest with a four-fight winning streak, all of which have come by stoppage. Pingitore, meanwhile, is just 2-2 in his past four bouts. That’s fine by him, though, because when he enters the cage at CES MMA 37 his instincts of being an EMT will go out the window and he plans on turning his nickname into truth by turning the “Lights Out” on his opponent.
“I’m going to flatline him and walk out the cage,” Pingitore said. “I’m not getting paid to help him, I’m getting paid to hurt him.”
For more on CES MMA 37, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
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