Six years after his last UFC fight, Canadian Jesse (The Body Snatcher) Ronson is back.
The 34-year-old from London, Ont., moves up a weight class to take on Danish welterweight Nicolas (Lokomotivo) Dalby on a UFC Fight Night card Saturday on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Alberta heavyweight Tanner (The Bulldozer) Boser is also on the card.
"I'm super-excited. It's been a long time coming," said Ronson. "I've worked my butt off for the last six years to get this opportunity again.
"I let it slip through my fingers in 2018, just by not being ready, but now I'm more than ready. I've been training hard. And I'm looking forward to being able to showcase the brand-new me."
Ronson, who usually fights at lightweight although he has held both the 155- and 170-pound titles in the Montreal-based TKO promotion, believes he is stronger, faster and has filled in the holes in his games since he last entered the Octagon.
Ronson (21-10-0) is stepping in for the injured Danny (Hot Chocolate) Roberts against Dalby (18-3-1). The main event at Yas Island features middleweight contenders Robert (The Reaper) Whittaker and Darren (The Gorilla) Till.
Also on the undercard, Boser (18-6-1) takes on Brazil's Raphael (Bebezao) Pessoa (10-1-0). The 28-year-old from Bonnyville, Alta., who now calls Edmonton home, is coming off a sensational first-round knockout win June 27 over Philipe (Monstro) Lins.
Both Canadians flew to Las Vegas for COVID-19 testing and quarantines before jetting to Abu Dhabi for more of the same ahead of the fight card.
Ronson lost three straight in the UFC in 2013-14.
He was a late injury replacement in September 2013 against Michel Prazeres at UFC 165 in Toronto and then had to go to Brazil in February 2014 to face Francisco Trinaldo. He lost both via split decisions, snapping the eight-fight win streak that got him into the UFC.
Ronson then lost another split decision in July 2014 to Kevin (The Motown Phenom) Lee, now ranked No. 9 among UFC lightweight contenders.
Ronson has gone 8-5-0 since leaving UFC and has won six of his last eight.
Dalby is 2-2-1 in two stints in the UFC. The 35-year-old Dane won a decision over Alex (Cowboy) Olivieira last time out in his UFC return last September.
Ronson isn't looking for excuses for his past setbacks in the UFC.
"It's the UFC. You shouldn't be fighting weak guys," he said. "There's some guys in the UFC right now that I don't think should be in the UFC and I plan on calling them out and fighting them after this fight is done. Because you're in the UFC for a reason. You should be the best in the world.
"The three guys they gave me the first time around, I would love to fight them all again. The Jesse Ronson that was in the UFC in 2013, I was a two-stripe white belt. Now I'm a two-stripe brown belt. I can handle myself against Olympic-quality or (NCAA Division 1) D1-level wrestlers. And my striking's better than ever.
"They gave me the best and I lost three split (decisions). It is what it is. Now I'm just more mature and more confident and more skilled. So I look forward to it."
Ronson had a combined 139-123 edge in significant strikes in his three previous UFC bouts. But he was taken down 12 times, while stuffing another 19 attempts.
Fighting on short notice at welterweight means Ronson has reduced his weight cut.
"It's good for me. I'm glad that they offered me this fight at 170. Because if they asked for 155 at the same time, I wouldn't have been able to make it," said Ronson, who got the call from the UFC on July 1.
He promptly moved into coach Adam Higson's Diablo Muay Thai gym in Hamilton to cut down on the commute, travelling back to London for some practice sessions at the Adrenaline Training Centre.
Prior to the UFC invitation, he had been splitting training with a job delivering cleaning supplies. He was up at 6 a.m. for the day job then heading to the gym when he was done at 1 p.m.
The UFC reached out to Ronson on 11 days notice for the UFC 231 in December 2018. Despite reinjuring his hamstring in a fight 11 weeks earlier, he accepted.
"I tried to keep training but I couldn't. My leg just wouldn't handle it," he said. "I needed to rest."
Unable to train, he dieted hard but couldn't make weight. And the UFC moved on.
"It took a little bit with (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby to get back on his good side," said Ronson.
"It was all on me," he added. "I shouldn't have taken that fight in December 2018. But when the UFC calls and say they need you, you can't say no."
An enthusiastic body-puncher — hence the nickname — Ronson likes to work the body "more so than ever."
"It's a go-to staple of mine," he said. "Every single fight I'm managing to crunch ribs and rearrange guts. You can expect to see that (Saturday) against Nicolas Dalby.
"I wouldn't even call it peppering any more. I'll be smashing down some walls."
A former high school wrestler and rugby player, Ronson was drawn to martial arts in 2006 after a friend told him about Round One Kickboxing, a gym which was located literally at the end of his street in London.
He made his pro MMA debut in 2009.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2020.
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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
