Ron Sparks (fighter)

Ron Sparks
Born	(1974-11-23) November 23, 1974 Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Other names	The Monster
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	119.7 kg (264 lb; 18.85 st)
Division	Heavyweight
Reach	74.0
Team	Louisville MMA
Years active	2006–present
Kickboxing record
Total	1
Losses	1
By knockout	1
Mixed martial arts record
Total	11
Wins	8
By knockout	6
By submission	1
By decision	1
Losses	3
By knockout	2
By submission	1
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: May 7, 2011

Ron Sparks (born November 23, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist, who formerly competed in Bellator's Heavyweight division.^[1]

Background

Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Sparks was introduced to combat sports through his father, a Vietnam War veteran who also worked as a martial arts instructor in the military. Sparks himself began training when he was seven years old, before transitioning into kickboxing when he was a teenager and became a sparring partner for various local boxers and kickboxers. Sparks then embarked on his own career in kickboxing, before finally switching over to MMA.

Early career

Sparks made his professional MMA debut on June 17, 2006, defeating Heath Zimmerman via KO at Caged Inferno 2. Following this impressive win, Sparks would compile an undefeated record of 5-0 before being signed by Bellator MMA in June 2010.^[2]

Bellator MMA

Sparks made his Bellator debut in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky at Bellator 30, which he won by knockout after just 50 seconds. He then fought veteran Vince Lucero at Bellator 43 on May 7, 2011, which he won via first-round submission.

Sparks entered into the Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tournament. In the opening round, he faced Mark Holata at Bellator 52 and won via knockout in the first round. Sparks then faced Eric Prindle in the semifinals and lost via knockout in the first round.

Sparks will compete in the Bellator Season Seven Heavyweight Tournament, and was expected to face Mark Godbeer in the quarterfinals at Bellator 75.^[3]

Sparks faced Vitaly Minakov on June 19, 2013 at Bellator 96 in the opening round of the Heavyweight Tournament.^[4] He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Sparks made his next appearance for Bellator at Bellator 105 on October 25, 2013, facing fellow kickboxer Mighty Mo. Sparks lost via submission in the first round.

Sparks was released from Bellator on August 25, 2014.^[5]

Other promotions

Sparks was expected to face Josh Walker at Hardrock MMA 60 on February 1, 2014. However in the weeks leading up to the event, the fight was taken off of the card for unknown reasons.^[6] Sparks was expected to face Jeremy May on September 20, 2014 at Square Ring Promotions: Island Fights 30.^[7] However, the fight was cancelled for unknown reasons.^[8]

Mixed martial arts record

Kickboxing record

0 wins, 1 loss
Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	0-1	Alexey Ignashov	KO (right high kick)	K-1 ColliZion 2009 Final Elimination	02009-10-24-0000October 24, 2009	2	2:15	Arad, Romania

Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest

References

External links

• Professional MMA record for Ron Sparks from Sherdog