Bellator Fighting Championships Heavyweight - Ron Sparks Interview

Bellator fans are awaiting the highly anticipated heavyweight tournament this fall, but they aren’t the only ones.
“There are some good guys in this tournament,” Bellator heavyweight Ron “The Monster” Sparks said. “Bellator is really starting to bring it out.”
Sparks, an undefeated prospect, says he is excited to get into the cage and kick off the tournament in September. He also said that being undefeated doesn’t wear on his mind.
“I don’t put much stock in it,” he said. “Most guys will tell you that. What they won’t say is that it’s going to happen. You’re going to get that first loss, its MMA, man.”
Sparks also said that he wants to be like Wanderlei Silva when he steps into the cage.
“I just want to go out there and put on a show,” he said. “I really want to be like Wanderlei Silva, just out there knocking heads off. Everybody loves that guy."
Sparks comes into the tournament with seven wins under his belt, six of which he has finished inside the first round. Sparks has only gone the distance once in his short MMA career, a four-round decision win over Jonathan Ivey. The Ivey fight, Sparks said, was his toughest to date.
“I fought a hard four-rounds against Jonathan Ivey. A lot of people just see that, they don’t realize that fight was outside in the blazing sun in 95-degree heat. I can go the distance if I have to.”
The Louisville MMA standout says his current trainer, Jason Y got him into the sport.
“Jason has been doing Mixed Martial Arts since he was five years old,” Sparks said. “He is the most fundamentally sound fighter I have ever seen, he just doesn’t fight.”
Louisville MMA is a small and upcoming gym with not many well-known stars. The faces of Louisville MMA are relative unknown John Foyer, and none other than Ron Sparks.
“I love being looked up to,” he said. “There are a lot of young guys in here, and I love helping them get better, the same that the guys I look up to did for me.”
As for the upcoming tournament as a whole, Sparks said he is really looking forward to seeing all the new talent Bellator has.
“Bellator is here to stay,” he said. “No one else does these exciting tournaments like they do.”
Sparks also spoke highly of the organization itself.
“Bellator really cares about their fighters,” Sparks said. “We are taken care of. We get paid really well, and the [upper management] really cares about our well-being. [Bellator CEO] Bjorn [Rebney] makes me feel like a champ whenever I’m around him,” he said. “He really cares about the lower level fighters like me. I’m trying to move up and Bjorn really makes me want to do that.”
Whoever his next opponent may be, Sparks said he planned to keep the game plan simple: come forward.
“I was always told to strike first,” Sparks said. “I always want to be the aggressor. I’m going to come forward and go in there for the knockout. He better bring it because I’m going to bring it too. Let’s have a great fight.”