As soon as Brock Lesnar defeated Frank Mir for the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship, fans and insiders began racking their brains for a suitable challenger. Lesnar had just capped his five fight MMA championship run with a victory over the only man to defeat him and revealed an athleticism and combination of quickness and power that that belies a man of his enormous size and strength. At 6'3" and a legitimate 290 pounds. There aren't many men in the world that can match Lesnar's athletic and genetic credentials.

Enter Ron Sparks. "The Monster" as he is known, stands 6'5" and checks in at a muscular 330-pounds. Over the past few years he's "cut" down to 290 and after fighting his first five MMA fights at super heavyweight, he's ready to take on the best in the world under 265 pounds.

Size? Check.

Sparks has studied martial arts since he was a youngster. His father was an avid fan of kickboxing and boxing and raised Sparks as a fighter. His striking prowess and power is unquestioned among 6 of his 7 first-round knockout victims.

Power? Check.

At a now svelte 290-pounds, Sparks moves like a man 100-pounds lighter. He deftly utilizes striking combination that men his size can only dream of. Imagine a bigger version of Shane Carwin with muay thai skills.

Athleticism? Check.

If his name sounds familiar, it's probably because Sparks signed a contract back in May of 2008 to fight for the now defunct AFL promotion along with another big heavyweight you might have heard of by the name of Bobby Lashley. The big time former WWE star and Sparks began training together and have formed a friendship and training relationship that has pushed both men to new heights in the sport.

Tie to pro wrestling? Check...

Okay, the last point was a bit of a stretch, but it not easy finding athletic fighters over 6'3" with a muscular 280-pound plus frame who can match Lesnar point by point.

One thing the two do have in common is lack of experience. Sparks, like Lesnar doesn't have ton of cage time. In fact, he's never fought for a big time promotion, but fighters with his freak combination of size, athleticism and power don't come around all that often. Just ask fans looking for "the next big thing".

Gavin Vincent of FiveKnuckles.com sat down exclusively with the man who may one day match his freak genetic gifts with that of the current UFC champion. With many soured on Lesnar's in ring antics and off-color post fight comments, Sparks may be the yin to Lesnar's yang. Sparks comes across as jovial, larger than life and even humble.

Personality? You decide.

FiveKnuckles.com: Thanks for taking the time Ron. Can you tell us a little bit about how you became involved in mixed martial arts?

Ron Sparks: My back ground is in muay thai, boxing and kickboxing. I've been doing that for a long time before I got into jui-jitsu. I've been doing jui-jitsu for about 5 years now. I like to stand and bang. My dad got me into martial arts when I was real young and he loved to box and kickbox. I got to doing that and went over to Louisville MMA with Terry Wise and that's were I got my ground game. He kinda turned everything around and got me to where I am now. I'll go anywhere and train, but my home will always be at Louisville MMA...