Blue-Chip Prospect Ed Ruth Drops to Welterweight for Next Bout at Bellator 196

Ed Ruth is dropping from middleweight to welterweight for his next Bellator MMA appearance.

Sherdog.com confirmed with a promotion official on Tuesday that Ruth will move to 170 pounds and face Laszlo Furko in a main card bout at Bellator 196. MMAjunkie.com first reported the bout. Bellator 196 takes place at Budapest Sports Arena in Budapest Hungary on April 6 and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Benson Henderson and Roger Huerta.

A three-time NCAA wrestling champion at Penn State University, Ruth has been victorious in his first four professional appearances — all of which occurred under the Bellator MMA banner. Most recently, Ruth garnered a second-round knockout victory of Chris Dempsey at Bellator 186 on Nov. 3.

Furko is a native of Budapest who will be making his Bellator debut. The 28-year-old owns a 6-3 career mark, with all of his triumphs coming by knockout, technical knockout or submission.