NORTH EAST MMA Media
Amateur MMA Fighter Focus

JONATHAN PIERSMA
WAR HAWK – NEW YORK’S PRO MMA WELTERWEIGHT
By: Thomas Vickers (Combat Sports Journalist)

JONATHAN “War Hawk” PIERSMA
As his nickname implies, when Jonathan Piersma steps into the steel cage he is ready for war.  He fights out of New York and trains under the guidance of Synthesis BJJ.  Piersma made his amateur MMA debut in February of 2018.  The “War Hawk” went on to produce a notable amateur career.  His amateur highlights include winning the Gladius Fights middleweight championship title in September of 2018 and capturing the Full Contact Promotion vacant welterweight title in January of 2019.  Piersma produced a stout (6-1) MMA record as an amateur taking five of his six victories by way of finish. 

Piersma made his professional debut as a welterweight in December of 2020 at CFFC 91 (Cage Fury FC).  He delivered a dominating first round finish victory via guillotine choke.  The New York fighter quickly built a solid (3-0) record as a pro finishing all three of his opponents in two rounds or less.  The undefeated up and coming “War Hawk” hit a slight bump in October of 2021 against Kris Vereen (5-0) at CFFC 101, a bout that resulted in a No Contest.  In March of 2022 Piersma was given his first “L”, a hard fought split decision loss to Charlie Radtke (4-3).

The Rochester area fighter refused to let the ‘no contest’ and the split decision slow his progress and returned to the professional cage in July of 2022 and delivered a lightning first round finish over TJ Welch (2-2) at CFFC 111.  Piersma’s strong return shifted towards him gaining the opportunity for a regional pro title matchup against a seasoned top shelf local MMA warrior, Ryan Sanders (20-9) for the vacant NEF pro welterweight championship title.  In November of 2022 Piersma defeated Ryan Sanders for the vacant New England Fights pro welterweight title via unanimous decision.  The victory over the experienced veteran Sanders along with the NEF pro welterweight title strap added more evidence as to Piersma’s rise among the upper northeast pro welterweights.
“I’d say my toughest fight to date was fighting for the NEF title.  Getting five rounds experience and fighting a tough veteran with thirty fights of experience,” explained Piersma.
When asked if he had plans to defend the NEF title in the future Piersma responded with “At this point there is no plan for me to defend my NEF title or return to fight for them (NEF).”

Jonathan “War Hawk” Piersma is coming off a big second round KO/TKO stoppage of Sanad Armouti (3-1) under the bright lights of the wide reaching Combat FC promotion in February of this year.  He is riding the energy of a three fight winning streak and carrying the pro strap of a regional northeast promotion. Fight fans keep a close eye on this northeast pro welterweight. The “War Hawk” is explosive, aggressive, and hungry.  He is strong and brings a serious wrestling game.  As Piersma continues to gain experience and develop a larger arsenal fight fans can expect to see him continue to rise higher and higher.  Word is that on June 16, 2023 Jonathan “War Hawk” Piersma will stepping into the cage to chase another pro title belt.

Cover Photo Credit – (CFFC)
By: Thomas Vickers (Combat Sports Journalist)

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