Jesse Ronson expects to earn Fight of the Night bonus in UFC return against Nicolas Dalby

Jesse Ronson didn’t believe he would make it back to the UFC.

Ronson was in the UFC from September 2013 to July 2014, but the Canadian went 0-3 with three split decision losses to Michel Prazeres, Francisco Trinaldo, and Kevin Lee. He was then fighting on the regional scenes when he got the call to fight Diego Ferreira on short notice at UFC 231. However, Ronson was pulled from the event due to him having to cut too much weight and Sean Shelby told him he’d never be signed by the UFC again.

“To be honest, at the time, no. It took until April and a nice long conversation with Sean Shelby,” Ronson said to BJPENN.com. “It was a no go that I was getting back in the UFC.”

Since then, Ronson thought his time as a UFC fighter was over. So, last year he signed with the PFL. But, he had only two fights in the organization before getting one win in a local Canadian promotion to earn a short-notice opportunity on Fight Island against Nicolas Dalby.

“It happened at 10:30 at night on Canada Day and I didn’t believe it,” Ronson said. “For months before, I have been texting my manager and Sean Shelby and they stopped answering. I thought that meant they gave up but then I get the call.”

Now, Ronson will be moving up a weight class to welterweight to fight Dalby. Yet, he doesn’t expect the weight to a play factor as he believes Dalby will stand and trade with him.

So, for the Canadian, he says this is the perfect opponent to fight at welterweight on short notice.

“There are a few guys at 170 I’d have my eye on. But, win or lose, I’m going back down to 155 after this. I’m glad I got someone like Dalby, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to grapple me,” he said. “But, we can get some bonus money if he is willing to throw down. I’m interested in guys who want to fight not the guys who want to cage stall and lay and pray. I want to get into fights, I want the people to tune in to see me fight.”

With this being Jesse Ronson’s return to the UFC, and the event happening on Fight Island, the Canadian is looking to put on a show. He knows he will be dropping back down to lightweight after this but hopes to leave Abu Dhabi with an extra $50,000 bonus.

“I would love for us to get Fight of the Night. He has good hands and I have great head movement and can stay in the pocket and keep it exciting. 10 pounds in striking doesn’t make a difference because it only really translates to grappling,” he said. “I almost sent out a tweet asking him how he wanted it to play out, like if he wanted to stand and trade or be boring and just wrestle.”

In the end, Jesse Ronson is relieved to finally be back in the UFC and prove he belonged in the promotion the entire time.

“I had to claw tooth and nail and finally something came down. It is a weight class up and Dalby is my kind of fighter,” he concluded.

Do you think Jesse Ronson will be able to pull off the upset win over Nicolas Dalby?