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NCAA Champ Ed Ruth Excitedly Anticipating His MMA Debut
For three-time NCAA wrestling champion Ed Ruth, making the move to MMA has gone just about as well as he could have anticipated.
“Of course you’ll hit those roadblocks; just trying to figure out the whole striking game and try to get those techniques; just those minor road blocks,” Ruth told MMAWeekly.com. “But after a while, you keep working at it and it becomes a lot easier than you thought it was.”
Rather than spending years on the local circuit building his career, Ruth is one of many top-level wrestlers that Bellator has signed over the past year, who will be making the jump straight into his first MMA fights with the company.
“I was really happy when they decide to pick me up” said Ruth. “I just like jumping into it. I kind of like walking into everything and being put into a situation where I have an opportunity to prove myself. I feel like this opportunity is everything.
“I like being part of the movement where (Bellator) wanted to bring in wrestling collegiate athletes. It just shows how deep our background is. It shows how sought-after the sport of wrestling is. I feel honored coming from that background.”
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For his MMA debut, Ruth (0-0) will face fellow newcomer Mark Mangiardi (0-0) in a 185-pound preliminary bout at Bellator 163 in Uncasville, Conn., on Friday.
“I just feel like I have to stick to my game plan,” Ruth said. “Just kind of keep doing the things I’ve been doing this whole time. I’m not going to go out there and try to do something new. I’m going to stick to my training.
“Of course, I’m going to try to keep the pace in my courtyard. I don’t want to follow (Mangiardi’s) pace. I want to put some things out there that he won’t know how to defend against.”
While Ruth would not be remiss for just wanting to get his first fight out of the way and move on, he’s intent on using Nov. 4 as a growing experience and building off what he’s able to learn in the bout.
“You kind of feel like you want to get the first one out of the way, but it’s like a learning opportunity,” said Ruth. “It gives me a sense of how I’m going to feel every single time I step into the cage.
“Since this is my first match, I’m excited to see how I’m going to feel in there and how I’m going to take it. When I feel this way, I always felt like I handled those situations well. I’m just waiting for that moment.”
