Ron Sparks (born November 23, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist, who formerly competed in

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

's Strikeforce K-1 King of the cage Revolution fight league American fight league

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division.

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 Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

instructor in the military. Sparks himself began training when he was seven years old, before transitioning into

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

when he was a teenager and became a sparring partner for various local

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

s and kickboxers. Sparks then embarked on his own career in kickboxing, before finally switching over to MMA. Sparks is also owner of a general contracting company, A-Ron Construction. A-Ron Construction is based in Louisville, Kentucky; servicing all aspects of home improvement needs.

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 Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

in June 2010.

Bellator MMA

Sparks made his

debut in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky at

Bellator 30 2010 in Bellator MMA was the second installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships (Bellator FC)-produced series. It started on April 8, 2010 and ended June 24, 2010. Tournaments were held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and m ...

, which he won by

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

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 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feather ...

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

TKO TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

in the first round. Sparks made his next appearance for

at Bellator 105 on October 25, 2013, facing fellow

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

Mighty Mo. Sparks lost via submission in the first round. Sparks was released from Bellator on August 25, 2014.

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. Sparks was expected to face Jeremy May on September 20, 2014 at Square Ring Promotions: Island Fights 30. However, the fight was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Mighty Mo , Submission (Keylock) , Bellator 105 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:52 , Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Vitaly Minakov , TKO (punches) , Bellator 96 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:32 , Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States , Bellator Summer Series 2013 Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 , Eric Prindle , KO (punch) ,

Bellator 56 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feather ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of the ...

, United States , Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Mark Holata , KO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 , Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States , Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Vince Lucero , Submission (Keylock) , Bellator 43 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 , Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Gregory Maynard , KO (punch) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 , Louisville, Kentucky, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Johnathan Ivey , Decision (unanimous) , RFL: Maximum Impact , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 5.00 ,

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Geoffrey Meisner , TKO (punches) , Colosseo Championship Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 , Edmonton, Alberta, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , TC Shane , KO (punches) , Caged Inferno 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 , Louisville, Kentucky, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Aaron Schenk , TKO (punches) , Clash in the Cage 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

Lawrenceburg, Kentucky Lawrenceburg is a home rule-class city in Anderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,505 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of its county. Lawrenceburg is part of the Frankfort, Kentucky, micropolitan statistical area. His ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Heath Zimmerman , KO (punches) , Caged Inferno 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:17 , Louisville, Kentucky, United States ,

Kickboxing record

''Legend'':

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sparks, Ron Living people 1975 births American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Kentucky Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male karateka American male kickboxers Heavyweight kickboxers Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu