Matt Bessette on tonight's CES MMA 44 headliner: I've got to be in Dana White's ear by now

If you figure out why CES MMA champion Matt Bessette hasn’t received the UFC call yet, be sure to let him know.

Bessette (21-7) looks to defend his featherweight crown in tonight’s CES MMA 44 headliner opposite short-notice replacement Reynaldo Trujillo (21-18). If he comes out victorious, “The Mangler” will add a seventh win to a current streak that includes four submissions and two knockouts.

With the impressive resume comes the inevitable question: Is the big league next? Bessette would gladly answer, if only he knew.

“Even a year ago, I was being asked the same question,” Bessette told AXS TV Fights’ Ron Kruck ahead of the event, which airs on AXS TV from Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. “Two years ago, I was being asked the same question, ‘What do you think is next?’ I don’t know.

“I’m going to get out there, do what I do, get another (win) and then be prepared for a last-minute replacement call from the UFC. That’s all I can really do.”

Bessette hasn’t gone entirely unnoticed by the bigger promotions. In fact, he boasts a solid 7-2 Bellator record, capped off by a TKO win over Keith Richardson back in April 2016. His only setbacks under their banner, to Daniel Weichel and Scott Cleve, were in 2014.

Asked what happened to that specific partnership, a puzzled-looking Bessette said the organization simply didn’t seem that interested in him.

“‘Dude, Rich (Chou, Bellator matchmaker), what happened?” Bessette said playfully. “I messaged you. I e-mailed you. You didn’t message me back.’

“I think Bellator, they had me. They could have done a lot with me, promotion-wise.”

In any case, Bellator’s pass turned out to be CES MMA’s gain. And now, looking to defend the promotion’s 145-pound belt for the second time, “The Mangler” has his sights set somewhere else.

“I think the UFC is my only goal; that’s all I’m looking for right now,” Bessette said. “If (UFC President) Dana White don’t know my name by now, maybe he has short-term memory loss or something like that, because I’ve got to be in his ear by now.”

To hear Kruck’s full chat with Bessette, check out the video above.

And for more on CES MMA 44, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

CES MMA 44 is live on AXS TV tonight at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT). Make sure to tweet along using ##CES44. AXS TV airs new, live fights almost every Friday night in 2017. Find AXS TV on your TV right here: www.axs.tv/fights.