Ron Sparks Impressive Again at Bellator 43
Heavyweight fighter Ron “The Monster” Sparks came into Saturdays Bellator 43 lacking the household name recognition of an up and coming prospect. Opening his career at smaller shows in the state of Kentucky, Sparks now 7-0 made his Bellator debut last August at Bellator 30.
Facing the undefeated Gregory Maynard (2-0) as part of the local card, Sparks made short work of his opponent, needing only 50 seconds to score the knockout in front of his hometown fans. The quick finish earned Sparks a long-term contract with Bellator that was signed just months later.
Sparks opponent on Saturday was the veteran of 42 professional MMA fights, Vince Lucero (19-21-1). A slugger out of Arizona, Lucero hadn’t won in over three years but has fought guys like Roy Nelson and Tim Sylvia in his career.
Spark once again made short work of his opponent but added a twist for this fight. Instead of knocking out Lucero as he had done to past opponent in five of his previous six bouts, Sparks scored his first career submission win. The striking of Sparks was clearly superior to his opponent and when a heavy leg kick took the legs out from under Lucero, it was the beginning of the end. Sparks quickly turned his sights to the arm of Lucero and from side control grabbed a keylock submission that would ultimately end the fight.
With another quick win and a long-term contract, Sparks would seem to be a lock (no pun intended) for the Bellator season five heavyweight tournament set to happen later this year. With the power he has already shown and the submission skills displayed in his last bout, Sparks appears to be a force to be reckoned with in the Bellator heavyweight division.
The current Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad along with the rest of the fighters in the heavyweight division has now been put on notice.
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- MMA Analysis: Bellator 52 Preview : Lake Charles Louisiana | October 1, 2011
behemoth,ron the monster sparks,he may have shown a different side of his “talent” i use that word lightly,with the take down,but,anybody /a better fighter would have never allowed him to have made that move.we need a better match for him ,i believe he will get it if he continues in the bellator championship,the word is at the local gym sparks uses in louisville ,sparks is having problems in his personal life,i could see the differance in his personality and his behavior.his pre fight comments where harsh ,vulgar,unsportsman like.i had not seen this before in sparks,no more corn fed ky bred good ole boy,even in this victory he seems subdued.sparks needs to decide where his loyalty belongs ,too his family or his sport,if he does not have peace in his personal life he is doomed in the cage.sparks will not win the championship with bellator.he does not posscess the full package.
joshua,43 not 45,keep up the good work ,at least you got his name right.
@Troy
Dammit that 5 is too close to the 3. Thanks for the heads up and yes I did get the name right. LOL
i would like to see him fight roy nelson,hard to believe nelson is ranked so high,i have talked to him at the gym ,the monster thinks he could beat lesnar,he got his ass kicked in arad k-1, a big russian ,alexey Ingnashov,4 time world champion,check it out,worst K.O.i have ever seen. he was on the ground longer than the fight lasted,he was packing a lot more weight then,he was done in no time,very poor showing.he is getting old 37 his next b/d