Introduction
Jesse Allen Ronson (born December 24, 1985) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional fighter since 2009, he has previously competed in promotions such as UFC, Aggression FC and Score Fighting Series. He is currently signed with TKO MMA, the largest mixed martial arts promotion in Canada, where he is the current Lightweight and Welterweight Champion.
Background
A native of the streets of London, Ontario, he fought a lot in the streets as a young kid. "...Being naturally good [at fighting], I figured I should make something of it instead of doing it on the streets and potentially getting arrested or charged." A wrestler in high school, he decided to start training in kickboxing and boxing in 2006 and switched over to MMA not long after.He got his nickname, "Body Snatcher," in 2006, after he had 3 fights in 3 days and won all three by first-round TKO with body shots.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
He made his professional MMA debut on November 28, 2009 at Elite 1 - Resurrection in Moncton. He defeated local favorite Eric St. Pierre with a first-round KO. He went on to win his next three bouts, but suffered his first career loss against Lindsey Hawkes at a catch weight of 163lbs.
He defeated current UFC fighter Jason Saggo by decision on August 2011. After this impressive showing, he received a shot at the AM Ford Fight Night Lightweight Championship. He defeated the champ, Brad Causey (who was coming in at 10-1 into the bout), on April 14, 2012 at AM Ford Night 2012 - Demolition via first-round KO to capture the belt.
At Score Fighting Series 7, Ronson defeated WEC and Strikeforce vet Ryan Healy, and received a shot at the Aggression FC Lightweight Championship on July 5, 2013 against Shane Campbell at AFC 19: Undisputed, where he captured the belt with a second round submission victory.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
On August 22, 2013, the UFC announced that it had signed Jesse Ronson to replace an injured Mark Bocek to take on Michel Prazeres at UFC 165 in Toronto. He lost the fight via split decision.
Ronson faced Francisco Trinaldo on January 2, 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi in Brazil, but lost again via split decision.
Ronson next fought Kevin Lee on July 6 at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale. Ronson was handed his third split decision loss in the UFC, and his third consecutive loss overall.
Post-UFC
Ronson was released after racking up three straight losses, and went on to fight Dom O'Grady at PFC 3 - Showdown in the Downtown on October 18, 2014 in London, where he dominated and won by way of TKO in the second round.
Ronson was scheduled to face Stephen Beaumont at XFFC 8. However, Beaumont pulled out due to injury.Now, Ronson will face Matt MacGrath for the XFFC Welterweight title in Grande Prairie, Alberta on December 11, 2015.
Return to Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ronson was scheduled to face Carlos Diego Ferreira on December 8, 2018 at UFC 231, replacing an injured John Makdessi. However, on December 4, 2018. It was announced that Ronson was pulled out of the fight due to being too heavy to safely make Lightweight and was released from UFC.
Ronson is scheduled to face Nicolas Dalby, replacing Danny Roberts on July 25, 2020 at UFC on ESPN 14.
Championships and accomplishments
Boxing
- Canadian Amateur Boxing Association
- Provincial boxing champion
Kickboxing
- Kickboxing Canada
- Canadian Low-Kick Middleweight Champion
- Canadian Full Contact Middleweight Champion
- Provincial Full Contact Middleweight champion
- World Pan-Amateur Kickboxing Association
- WPKA Full Contact Super Middleweight Champion
- WPKA K-1 Super Middleweight Champion
Mixed martial arts
- TKO Major League MMA
- TKO Welterweight Champion (One time, current)
- TKO Lightweight Champion (One time, current)
- Aggression Fighting Championship
- AFC Lightweight Championship (One time)
- AM Ford Fight Night
- AMFFN Lightweight Champion (One time)
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 31 matches | 21 wins | 10 losses |
| By knockout | 10 | 2 |
| By submission | 7 | 1 |
| By decision | 4 | 7 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 21–10 | Troy Lamson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | BTC 9: Rampage | February 29, 2020 | 1 | 4:16 | Kitchener, Ontario, Canada | Catchweight 160 lb |
| Loss | 20–10 | Nikolay Aleksakhin | TKO (punches) | PFL 7 | October 11, 2019 | 1 | 3:37 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | 2019 PFL Welterweight alternate bout. |
| Loss | 20–9 | Natan Schulte | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 5 | July 25, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | 2019 PFL Lightweight Second Round. |
| Win | 20–8 | Michael Dufort | Decision (split) | TKO 44: Hunter Vs Barriault | September 21, 2018 | 5 | 5:00 | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 19–8 | Derek Gauthier | TKO (punches) | TKO 41: Champions | December 8, 2017 | 1 | 1:10 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 18–8 | Jeremie Capony | Submission (rear-naked choke) | ACB 72 | October 14, 2017 | 2 | 1:20 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 17–8 | Derek Gauthier | TKO (punches) | TKO 38 - Ascension | April 7, 2017 | 3 | 3:49 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 16–8 | Jimmy Spicuzza | TKO (knees and punch) | TKO 36 Resurrection | November 4, 2016 | 2 | 3:06 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Loss | 15–8 | Matt Dwyer | Decision (unanimous) | XFFC 10 - Out of the Ashes | July 8, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada | |
| Loss | 15–7 | Matt MacGrath | Decision (unanimous) | XFFC 9 - Conviction | April 15, 2016 | 5 | 5:00 | Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada | For XFFC Welterweight Championship. |
| Loss | 15–6 | Alexander Sarnavskiy | Decision (unanimous) | Abu Dhabi Warriors 3 | October 3, 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 15–5 | Gadji Zaipulaev | Submission (d'arce choke) | Abu Dhabi Warriors 2 | March 26, 2015 | 2 | 3:24 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 14–5 | Dom O'Grady | TKO (punches) | PFC 3 - Showdown in the Throwdown | October 18, 2014 | 2 | 0:45 | London, Ontario, Canada | Catchweight of 171 lbs. |
| Loss | 13–5 | Kevin Lee | Decision (split) | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn Finale | July 6, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 13–4 | Francisco Trinaldo | Decision (split) | UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi | February 15, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil | |
| Loss | 13–3 | Michel Prazeres | Decision (split) | UFC 165 | September 21, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| Win | 13–2 | Shane Campbell | Submission (rear-naked choke) | AFC 19: Undisputed | July 5, 2013 | 2 | 1:59 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
| Win | 12–2 | Ryan Healy | Decision (unanimous) | SFS 7 - Score Fighting Series 7 | November 23, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | |
| Win | 11–2 | Alex Ricci | Decision (unanimous) | SFS 5 - Fraser vs. Hill | August 25, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | Catchweight of 156 lbs. |
| Win | 10–2 | Eric St. Pierre | TKO (punches) | Elite 1 - Redemption | July 28, 2012 | 1 | 2:17 | Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada | Catchweight of 160 lbs. |
| Win | 9–2 | Brad Causey | KO (punches) | AM Ford Fight Night 2012 - Demolition | April 14, 2012 | 1 | 4:54 | Trail, British Columbia, Canada | |
| Win | 8–2 | Tony Hervey | Submission (rear-naked choke) | SFS 3 - Meltdown in the Valley | December 3, 2011 | 2 | 4:25 | Sarnia, Ontario, Canada | |
| Win | 7–2 | Jason Saggo | Decision (split) | GWFC 1: Uprising | August 13, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | |
| Win | 6–2 | Brandon Chagnon | TKO (punches) | SITH - Slammer in the Hammer | June 17, 2011 | 1 | 4:40 | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | |
| Loss | 5–2 | Mike Ricci | TKO (punches) | Ringside MMA 10 - Cote vs. Starnes | April 9, 2011 | 1 | 3:12 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Catchweight of 157 lbs. |
| Win | 5–1 | Alka Matewa | Submission (armbar) | Wreck MMA - Strong and Proud | January 28, 2011 | 1 | 4:51 | Gatineau, Quebec, Canada | Catchweight of 165 lbs. |
| Loss | 4–1 | Lindsey Hawkes | Submission (rear-naked choke) | CFC - Canadian Fighting Championship 6 | October 8, 2010 | 1 | 4:47 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Win | 4–0 | Mark Durant | Submission (rear-naked choke) | CFC - Canadian Fighting Championship 5 | June 4, 2010 | 1 | 4:51 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Win | 3–0 | Mike Thibodeau | KO (punches) | Elite 1 - First Blood | April 24, 2010 | 2 | 2:34 | Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada | |
| Win | 2–0 | Luis Cepeda-Javier | TKO (punches) | CFC - Canadian Fighting Championship 4 | February 26, 2010 | 2 | 3:17 | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | |
| Win | 1–0 | Eric St. Pierre | KO (punches) | Elite 1 - Resurrection | November 28, 2009 | 1 | 3:52 | Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada | Pro debut. |