Unbeaten Ed Ruth drops to welterweight, booked for Bellator 196 main card

[AGEZ909]

By Mike Bohn March 20, 2018 2:15 pm

A welterweight bout between Ed Ruth and Laszlo Furko is the final addition to April’s Bellator 196 main-card lineup.

A Bellator official today revealed the matchup between Ruth (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and Furko (6-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) to MMAjunkie.

Bellator 196 will take place April 6 at Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary, and will air on Paramount via same-day delay.

Ruth, a three-time NCAA collegiate wrestling champion, started off his MMA career in a 192-pound catchweight bout. Since then he’s slowly inched down to the middleweight division, but at Bellator 196 will test his luck at welterweight for the first time.

After his successful career in wrestling, “Easy Ed” has made a relatively smooth transition to MMA. Ruth, 27, won all four of his fights by TKO, including a second-round finish of UFC veteran Chris Dempsey in his most recent bout at Bellator 186 in November.

Looking to pull off what would be a sizable upset against Ruth is Furko, a Hungarian fighter who will make his Bellator debut at the event. The 28-year-old has won three of his past four fights by first-round stoppage and has finished his opponent inside the distance in all of his career wins.

Also confirmed for the Bellator 196 lineup is a lone preliminary-card matchup in the middleweight division pitting Norbert Novenyi Jr.(2-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) against Mehmet Yueksel (2-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

The finalized Bellator 196 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount)

• Benson Henderson vs. Roger Huerta
• Adam Borics vs. Manuel Gaxhja
• Denise Kielholtz vs. Lena Ovchynnikova
• Giorgio Belsanti vs. Brian Moore
• Laszlo Furko vs. Ed Ruth

PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised)

• Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs. Mehmet Yueksel

http://mmajunkie.com/2018/03/ed-ruth-welterweight-debut-bellator-196-main-card-mma

 

[AGEZ909]

Bellator waited until the last minute to finish the main card.

 

[CC27]

Him dropping to WW is interesting, thats a much deeper div and a tougher road to the top. Think MW would have been easier but if he can make it and wants to try it go for it.

The card and the fight are terrible though which seems to be the norm.

 

[AGEZ909]

Him dropping to WW is interesting, thats a much deeper div and a tougher road to the top. Think MW would have been easier but if he can make it and wants to try it go for it.

The card and the fight are terrible though which seems to be the norm.

I’m not mad at the main event considering the circumstances. I do like the women’s fight as well.

Ed Ruth in a showcase. So is the hometown boy borics.

 

[VVarhead]

I'm gonna be there, hopefully.

Very fucking stoked, never been to a Bellator or UFC show, just ACB and regional stuff.
And Benson Henderson is one of my favorite fighters. (I know a lot of people don't like him, but I somehow do)

 

[VIP1349]

I'm gonna be there, hopefully.

Very fucking stoked, never been to a Bellator or UFC show, just ACB and regional stuff.
And Benson Henderson is one of my favorite fighters. (I know a lot of people don't like him, but I somehow do)

Even if it aint the most stacked card bro MMA live is always fun. Benson is my boy, if he loses to Huerta would hurt my soul.

 

[VVarhead]

Even if it aint the most stacked card bro MMA live is always fun. Benson is my boy, if he loses to Huerta would hurt my soul.

I honestly lost my shit when they announced they're bringing Henderson to Budapest. I just didn't expect a MMA card of this quality practically on my doorstep.
We get ACB once in a while, but other than that we practically have nothing here in my proximity that even comes close to any Bellator card.

I always cringe when some guys on here complain because a UFC card in their town isn't stacked enough or even complain about too much cards - because MMA fans here would probably murder for any kind of UFC card/event. <45>

 

[GueseGuy]

Wow interesting move considering WW is stacked in Bellator. Imagine Ruth vs Storley down the line? This card is pretty decent for a tape delay in Hungary.

 

[Meathead Jock]

Interesting. I thought he looked small next to Khabib for a MW, this explains why.

 

[Falconkick]

Ed is a fighter too watch he is very talented. But apart of me wishes he would stay at MW to keep that division more interesting. Oh well

 

[tehMoose]

Ed should finish him in the 1st

 

[AGEZ909]

Even if it aint the most stacked card bro MMA live is always fun. Benson is my boy, if he loses to Huerta would hurt my soul.

This is true to a degree. I went to the Tito vs Chael event in Inglewood and i had some regrets. Event wasn’t bad, but the seats that i chose were. I found myself looking at the screens more often than I’d like to admit.

I’m definitely going to pick better seatings next time I hit a live event up.

I’d upload a pic of my view of the event,but it says the file is too big.

Anyways, hope the guy(or gal, who knows) who is going has fun.

 

[Norman Khabib]

After his successful career in wrestling, “Easy Ed” has made a relatively smooth transition to MMA. Ruth, 27, won all four of his fights by TKO, including a second-round finish of UFC veteran Chris Dempsey in his most recent bout at Bellator 186 in November.

Dempsey had been KO'd in 4 of his last 5 fights, and all in the opening round. Not really sure what they were expecting to happen even against a grappler with limited striking. Typical Bellator matchmaking strikes again.

 

[Norman Khabib]

I’m not mad at the main event considering the circumstances. I do like the women’s fight as well.

Ed Ruth in a showcase. So is the hometown boy borics.

What are the circumstances? Benson may be done at the elite level, but he isn't shot to shit like Huerta.

 

[AGEZ909]

What are the circumstances? Benson may be done at the elite level, but he isn't shot to shit like Huerta.

short notice circumstances.

 

[Paul L]

Ed is a fighter too watch he is very talented. But apart of me wishes he would stay at MW to keep that division more interesting. Oh well

Bellator should sign Deron Winn for MW now that Ruth is at WW. I'm actually shocked they haven't yet.

 

[Norman Khabib]

short notice circumstances.

oh yeah the Gallagher pullout, how could I forget. Huerta is homeless now too and seems Coker is just using him, because he could've got Roger a much needed fight in the 6 months or so he's been under contract with them but only bothered to do it once he had a hole to fill on short notice. 3 weeks .. Huerta is not gonna be ready, and I bet Henderson hasn't spent more than a few weeks away from the gym in the last 10 years, plus he's had to stay in shape throughout 2017 as he waited for a fight to materialise.

It's going to be a mauling and I won't be watching, even as a big Bendo fan.

 

[Pakman]

came to WW forums to see if there was a thread and luckily, you guys haven't disappointed.

Actually think this is a good move for Ruth, even if it is a tougher division. Think the size and wrestling ability he has can do big things at 170.

 

[Treeloy]

He looked about the same size as khabib. He was a small 185 so 170 should be a better fit

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

He looked about the same size as khabib. He was a small 185 so 170 should be a better fit

Both are walking around at around 182. I think Khabib is a bit smaller but not by much. A move to WW is a smart choice. Especially if he want to go to the UFC one day. Much much bigger MWs there.