Jesse Allen Ronson is a Canadianmixed martial artist who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Lightweight division. A professional fighter since 2009, he has previously competed in promotions such as UFC, Aggression FC and Score Fighting Series. He was previously signed with TKO MMA, the largest mixed martial arts promotion in Canada, where he was the former 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 , 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.
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, 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.
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 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 faced Nicolas Dalby, replacing Danny Roberts on July 26, 2020 at UFC on ESPN 14. He won the fight via submission in round one, earning his first win in the promotion. This win also earned him the Performance of the Night award.
