Ed Ruth facts for kids

Edward Lee Ruth (born October 21, 1990) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. He competed in the Middleweight division of Bellator MMA. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a three-time NCAA Division I national champion.

Early life and education

Ruth was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He wrestled at Susquehanna Township High School prior to transferring to Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey for his senior year and graduating in 2009.

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.

In July 2021, Ruth joined the University of Illinois wrestling program as an assistant coach.

Mixed martial arts career

In December 2014, Ruth trained with mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Jon Jones. While living in State College, Pennsylvania, 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.

Ruth faced Kiichi Kunimoto at Bellator 224 on July 12, 2019 and won the fight via TKO in the second round.

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. 4 out of 6 media scores gave it to Jackson.

Ruth faced Yaroslav Amosov in the main event of Bellator 239, on February 21, 2020. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Ruth faced Taylor Johnson at Bellator 245 on September 11, 2020. He lost the bout due to an inverted heel hook submission early in the first round.

In July 2021, Ruth retired from MMA and took a job as assistant coach with the University of Illinois wrestling program, joining head coach Mike Poeta in his first year at the helm of the program.

Championships and accomplishments

Freestyle wrestling

• United World Wrestling
  • 2015 Henri Deglane Challenge Silver Medalist
  • 2015 Bill Farrell International Open Gold Medalist
  • 2014 Heydar Aliyev Memorial Golden Grand Prix Bronze Medalist
• USA Wrestling
  • 2015 U.S World Team Trials Silver Medalist
  • 2015 U.S ASICS National Championships Bronze Medalist
  • 2014 U.S World Team Member
  • 2014 U.S Open Bronze Medalist
  • 2013 U.S University National Championships Gold Medalist

Folkstyle wrestling

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • NCAA Division I All-American out of Pennsylvania State University (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
  • NCAA Division I 174 lb - Third Place out of Pennsylvania State University (2011)
  • NCAA Division I 174 lb National Championship out of Pennsylvania State University (2012)
  • NCAA Division I 184 lb National Championship out of Pennsylvania State University (2013)
  • NCAA Division I 184 lb National Championship out of Pennsylvania State University (2014)
• Big Ten Conference
  • Big Ten 174 lb National Championship out of Pennsylvania State University (2011)
  • Big Ten 174 lb National Championship out of Pennsylvania State University (2012)
  • Big Ten 184 lb National Championship out of Pennsylvania State University (2013)
  • Big Ten 184 lb National Championship out of Pennsylvania State University (2014)

Mixed martial arts record

NCAA record

NCAA Championships Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event
2014 NCAA Championships 1 at 184 lbs
Win	20-1	Jimmy Sheptock	7-2	March 20–22, 2014	2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	19-1	Gabe Dean	5-3
Win	18-1	Kevin Steinhaus	MD 10-2
Win	17-1	Lazarus Reyes	TF 15-0
Win	16-1	Jackson Hein	Fall
2013 NCAA Championships 1 at 184 lbs
Win	15-1	Robert Hamlin	MD 12-4	March 21–23, 2013	2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	14-1	Steve Bosak	4-1
Win	13-1	Josh Ihnen	MD 11-1
Win	12-1	Kevin Radford	Fall
Win	11-1	Fred Garcia	Fall
2012 NCAA Championships 1 at 174 lbs
Win	10-1	Nick Amuchastegui	MD 13-2	March 15–17, 2012	2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	9-1	Logan Storley	TF 17-1
Win	8-1	Nick Heflin	11-4
Win	7-1	Dorian Henderson	Fall
Win	6-1	Jim Resnick	Fall
2011 NCAA Championships 3 at 174 lbs
Win	5-1	Chris Henrich	7-2	March 17–19, 2011	2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	4-1	Ben Bennett	Fall
Win	3-1	Luke Manuel	7-6
Lose	2-1	Nick Amuchastegui	WDF
Win	2-0	Scott Glasser	5-3
Win	1-0	Royal Bettrager	Fall

Freestyle record

Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
2015 US Nationals 8th at 86kg
Loss	42-14	Clayton Foster	8-15	December 18, 2015	2015 US Senior National Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	42-13	Ethen Lofthouse	TF 10-0
Loss	41-13	David Taylor	TF 0-13
Win	41-12	Anthony Jones	Fall
Win	40-12	Frank Richmond	TF 11-0
2015 Henri Deglane 2 at 86kg
Loss	39-12	Gheorghiță Ștefan	TF 0-10	November 27, 2015	2015 Henri Deglane Challenge	Nice, France
Win	39-11	Armin Rezazadehbabaei	TF 10-0
Win	38-11	Giorgi Tigishvili	9-1
2015 Bill Farrell 1 at 86kg
Win	37-11	Jon Reader	TF 13-0	November 7, 2015	2015 Bill Farrell International Open	New York City, New York
Win	36-11	Richard Perry	5-4
Win	35-11	Robert Hamlin	TF 14-3
Win	34-11	Timmy McCall	TF 12-2
2015 World Cup at 86kg
Loss	33-11	Dauren Kurugliev	Fall	July 24, 2015	2015 Wrestling World Cup	Baku, Azerbaijan
Win	33-10	Reineris Salas	22-13
2015 US World Team Trials 2 at 86 kg
Loss	32-10	Jake Herbert	2-10	July 13, 2015	2015 US World Team Trials	Madison, Wisconsin
Loss	32-9	Jake Herbert	TF 3-13
Win	32-8	Keith Gavin	TF 12-2		2015 US World Team Trials Challenge Tournament
Win	31-8	Jon Reader	24-18
Win	30-8	Phillip Keddy	TF 14-3
2015 ASICS US Nationals 3 at 86kg
Win	29-8	Deron Winn	TF 12-2	May 7, 2015	2015 Las Vegas/ASICS US Senior National Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	28-8	Jon Reader	TF 10-0
Loss	27-8	Jake Herbert	11-13
Win	27-7	Ryan Loder	TF 10-0
Win	26-7	Austin Morehead	TF 13-2
Win	25-7	Adam Fierro	TF 10-0
2014 World Championship 15th at 86kg
Loss	24-7	Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian	4-7	September 8, 2014	2014 World Wrestling Championships	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Win	24-6	Yusup Melejayev	TF 12-2
2014 Heydar Aliyev Memorial 3 at 86kg
Win	23-6	Taimuraz Friev	5-0	July 24, 2014	2014 Heydar Aliyev Memorial Golden Grand Prix	Baku, Azerbaijan
Loss	22-6	Shamil Kudiyamagomedov	2-3
Win	22-5	Magomiedgadży Chatijew	4-1
Win	21-5	Armands Zvirbulis	TF 18-4
2014 US World Team Trials 1 at 86 kg
Win	20-5	Keith Gavin	11-7	June 1, 2014	2014 US World Team Trials	Madison, Wisconsin
Win	19-5	Keith Gavin	Fall
Loss	18-5	Keith Gavin	5-7
Win	18-4	Clayton Foster	7-3		2014 US World Team Trials Challenge Tournament
Win	17-4	Phillip Keddy	TF 14-4
Win	16-4	Robert Hamlin	TF 13-3
2014 US Open 3 at 86kg
Win	15-4	Jon Reader	12-11	April 18, 2014	2014 U.S Open Wrestling Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	14-4	Robert Hamlin	6-2
Loss	13-4	Clayton Foster	13-14
Win	13-3	Phillip Keddy	14-10
Win	12-3	Richard Perry	TF 11-1
Win	11-3	Kane Hobbs	TF 10-0
2013 Universiade Games 23rd at 86kg
Loss	10-3	Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian	TF 0-10	July 11, 2013	2013 Summer Universiade	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
2013 University Nationals 1 at 86kg
Win	10-2	Cameron Simaz	TF 10-0	May 25, 2013	2013 US University National Championships	Akron, Ohio
Win	9-2	Cameron Simaz	6-4
Win	8-2	Max Thomusseit	9-8
Win	7-2	Kenneth Courts	14-9
Win	6-2	Michael Dessino	TF 10-0
Win	5-2	David Chenevey	TF 10-0
Win	4-2	Nolan Boyd	TF 17-7
2013 US Open 4th at 86kg
Loss	3-2	Jon Reader	7-3	April 18, 2013	2013 US Open Wrestling Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	3-1	Austin Trotman	7-3
Loss	2-1	Clayton Foster	1-7
Win	2-0	Enock Francois	5-0
Win	1-0	Daniel Bedoy	10-4

Submission grappling record

12 Matches, 9 Wins (4 Submissions), 3 Losses (1 Submission)
Result	Rec.	Opponent	Method	Event	Division	Type	Year	Location
Loss	9–3	Louis Edward Kelly Ryan	Points (7-8)	2019 IBJJF World No-Gi Championships	91.5 kg	Nogi	December 14, 2019	Anaheim, CA
Win	9–2	Christopher Diaz Jr	Points (2-0)
Win	8–2	Vincent M. Valenzuela	Submission (anaconda choke)
Loss	7–2	Mateus Rodrigues	Submission (armbar)	2018 IBJJF Pan American Jiu-jitsu Championships	74 kg	Gi (blue)	March 11, 2018	Irvine, CA
Win	7–1	Felipe Porto Shiavon	Submission (arm-triangle choke)
Win	6–1	Logan Ross	Points (6-0)
Win	5–1	Derek Young	Points (14-0)
Loss	4–1	Conner DeAngelis	Points (0-2)	2017 IBJJF Pan American Jiu-jitsu Championships	94 kg	Gi (blue)	March 16, 2017	Irvine, CA
Win	4–0	Alex Sterner	Points (16-0)
Win	3–0	Jerome Harris Jr	Points (13-0)
Win	2–0	Kevin Fusiler	Submission (kimura)
Win	1–0	Kristien Ruffin	Submission (armbar)