Ed Ruth


Edward Lee Ruth is an American professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion.

Early life

Ruth was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is a 2009 graduate of Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey. He transferred there from Susquehanna Township High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where he competed in his freshman, sophomore and junior year.

Wrestling

In folkstyle wrestling, Ruth competed for Pennsylvania State University from 2010 to 2014. While there, Ruth was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion.
In freestyle wrestling, Ruth represented the United States at the 2014 World Wrestling Championships and the 2015 Wrestling World Cup.

Mixed martial arts career

In December 2014, Ruth trained with mixed martial arts fighter Jon Jones. While living in State College, PA, Ruth trained at Central PA Mixed Martial Arts with head instructor Ryan Gruhn.

Bellator MMA

He signed with Bellator MMA in May 2015. Due to his focus on competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics, Ruth declared that it would "be a little while" before his MMA debut.
Ruth made his professional MMA debut in November 2016 on the undercard of Bellator 163 against Dustin Collins-Miles, fighting in the middleweight division. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.'
In his second professional MMA bout, Ruth faced Emanuele Palombi at Bellator 168 on December 10, 2016. He again won via TKO in the first round.
Ruth was expected to face Aaron Goodwine at Bellator 178 on April 21, 2017 but the bout did not materialize. Ruth instead fought and defeated David Mundell.
Ruth faced UFC veteran Chris Dempsey on November 3, 2017 at Bellator 186. He won the fight via knockout in the second round.
Ruth was originally scheduled to make his welterweight debut and face Lazslo Furko of Hungary, but Furko pulled out due to injury. Ruth then faced Ion Pascu of Romania, who took the fight on two weeks notice at Bellator 196 held in Budapest, Hungary. This fight was agreed at a catchweight of 175 lbs. He won the fight by unanimous decision after taking Pascu down numerous times and landing heavy ground and pound.
Ruth made his welterweight debut against Andy Murad at Bellator 201 in Temecula, California. He won the fight by TKO in round two.
Ruth next entered the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix. He faced Neiman Gracie in the quarterfinals at Bellator 213 on December 15, 2018. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the fourth round. After the loss, Ruth decided to leave Alliance MMA and join American Kickboxing Academy.
On August 15, 2019, it was announced that Ruth had signed an exclusive multi-fight, multi-year contract extension with Bellator. As the first fight of his new contract, Ruth faced Jason Jackson at Bellator 231 on October 25, 2019. He won the back-and-forth fight by split decision.
Ruth faced Yaroslav Amosov in the main event of Bellator 239, on February 21, 2020. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Freestyle wrestling

NCAA record

! colspan="8"| NCAA Championships Matches
! Res.
! Record
! Opponent
! Score
! Date
! Event
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2014 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2013 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2012 NCAA Championships at 174 lbs
! style=background:white colspan=6 |2011 NCAA Championships at 174 lbs

Freestyle record

! Res.
! Record
! Opponent
! Score
! Date
! Event
! Location
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! style=background:white colspan=7 |
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
Madison, Wisconsin
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Madison, Wisconsin
! style=background:white colspan=7 |
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Submission grappling record