Ron Sparks (born November 23, 1974) was an American mixed martial artist, who formerly competed in Bellator'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 Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division.

Background

Born and raised in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, Sparks was introduced to

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knocko ...

through his father, a

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

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-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

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

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

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 Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. Sparks was also owner of a general contracting company, A-Ron Construction, 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) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

in June 2010.

Bellator MMA

Sparks made his Bellator debut in his hometown of

, at Bellator 30, 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, ...

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. 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 in the first round. Sparks made his next appearance for Bellator at Bellator 105 on October 25, 2013, facing fellow

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

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

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Rio Rancho, New Mexico Rio Rancho () is the largest and most populous city in Sandoval County, part of the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. A small portion of the city extends into northern Bernalillo County. It is the thi ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Vitaly Minakov , TKO (punches) , Bellator 96 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:32 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located near the Texas state border. The population was 400 at the 2020 census. Geography Thackerville is situated near the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and State High ...

, United States , Bellator Summer Series 2013 Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 , Eric Prindle , KO (punch) , Bellator 56 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous 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 ...

, United States , Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Mark Holata , KO (punches) , Bellator 52 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 ,

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

, 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 Newkirk is a city in and the county seat of Kay County, Oklahoma, Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,172 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. History Newkirk is on land known as the Cherokee Outlet (popularly ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Gregory Maynard , KO (punch) , Bellator 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, 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, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Geoffrey Meisner , TKO (punches) , Colosseo Championship Fighting , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

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, 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 11,728 at the 2020 census. It is the seat of its county. Lawrenceburg is part of the Frankfort, Kentucky, micropolitan statistical area. ...

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

, 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 20th-century American sportsmen