Ruth was knocked down by a punch early, but popped back up to his feet. The three-time NCAA champ at Penn State then went full wrestling, with a huge feet-to-back double leg. His opponent, Justin Collins-Miles, tried to go full mount and get Ruth to submit. But the Harrisburg native readjusted, and got into a top/bottom ride.
Once again showing off his wrestling skills, Ruth used a combination of wrist control, leg riding, modified half-choke and tight waist to continuously land punches to Collins-Miles head and body. After it became clear Ruth's opponent had no answer, the ref stopped the match at 3:19 of round one, officially ruled a TKO on strikes.
Also winning his MMA debut was Tyrell Fortune, who won in a very similar fashion to Ruth. Fortune took his opponent down, and instead of attacking from full mount, got his opponent in a more traditional folk style top/bottom ride, and delivered strikes until the ref stopped the match. A huge right knee and an unanswered series of punches to the head ended the match by TKO in 2:20 at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
Here's how the wrestling community reacted to the wins:
Ya @EdwardLeeRuth getting a tko in his mma debut!!! Made it look easy! #bellator163
— Nico Megaludis (@babyflo_nico) November 4, 2016
Good job to my brothers @MrRoseCity @EdwardLeeRuth for picking up their first Wins tonight @BellatorMMA #Fab5 #Bellator167 I'm next up!
— Jarod Doughboy Trice (@Iam_DOUGH) November 4, 2016
Did you see my boys? @EdwardLeeRuth @MrRoseCity looked absolutely filthy tonight!
— Deron Winn (@Dont_BlinkMMA) November 4, 2016
Congrats easy ED! @EdwardLeeRuth @ed_ruth9 you did a fantastic job! #thetruth #thefuture https://t.co/LmW7RLELE1
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) November 4, 2016
Omg those knees by @MrRoseCity
— David Taylor (@magicman_psu) November 4, 2016
Sheesh @MrRoseCity just crushed that dudes ribs
— James Green (@WhoIsJamesG) November 4, 2016
Hand raise from @JoshKoscheck as @MrRoseCity handles business in his MMA debut #Bellator163 pic.twitter.com/QEWqulRpJc
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) November 4, 2016
Ed Ruth and Tyrell Fortune weren't the only former wrestlers on the card. Former Penn State national champion Phil Davis claimed the Light Heavyweight title with a dominating unanimous decision over Liam McGeary.
I thank God I have a team full of killers in the gym that help me prepare for the biggest moments of my life. @alliancemmagym #andnew pic.twitter.com/itjS7HgZES
— Phil Davis (@PhilMrWonderful) November 8, 2016