American collegiate wrestler and mixed martial artist
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.
References.
 ;templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" / ;