Ed Ruth (Photo/Bellator)It was a great night for former college wrestlers at Bellator 186, a major mixed martial arts event held on the campus of the defending NCAA Division I wrestling team champions.
Bellator 186, held at Bryce Jordan Arena on the Penn State campus in University Park, Pa. Friday night, saw former Nittany Lion mat champs Phil Davis and Ed Ruth come out as winners, as well as Bellator light-heavyweight champ Ryan Bader, and up-and-comers Logan Storley and Tywan Claxton.
Davis pleased the hometown crowd with a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Leonardo Leite in their light-heavyweight bout ... while Ruth scored a second-round knockout of Chris Dempsey. University of Minnesota mat alum Storley earned a unanimous decision over Matt Secor ... while Tywan Claxton, who wrestled at Ohio University, made headlines -- and highlight reels -- with a devastating first-round knockout of former Hofstra titlewinner Jonny Bonilla-Bowman at 145 pounds. And, in the top-of-the-card event, Arizona State mat alum Bader held onto his Bellator crown with a knockout of his own vs. Linton Vassell.
Ruth wows 'em with a big KO
Ed Ruth -- the only athlete to win back-to-back-to-back titles in more than a century of Penn State wrestling -- brought the Nittany Lions fans to their feet with yet another knockout in his young MMA career.
"It began as a wrestling match, and Ruth -- a three-time college champ -- controlled from the top position for most of the first round," reported the Centre Daily Times. "(Chris) Dempsey was eventually able to get back to his feet, but he wasn't prepared for the second round.
"That took just 27 seconds to complete. Ruth threw a right hook that connected to the side of Dempsey's head -- and the crowd stood up when Ruth's opponent hit the mat. It was lights out, and the 'Ruuuuuth' chants quickly spread across the lower bowl of the BJC (Bryce Jordan Center)."
After the win, Ruth said, "It just feels great. This is the first time I actually relied solely on my striking. It just makes me feel more confident in my hands and my feet. Before, I wanted to rely more on my wrestling."
With the win, Ruth is now 4-0 overall (4-0 in Bellator) since launching his MMA career just one year ago, while Dempsey falls to 11-6 overall (0-1 in Bellator), suffering his fourth consecutive loss.
Davis doesn't disappoint
Phil Davis, 2008 NCAA champ for Penn State, entered the cage after fellow mat alum Ed Ruth and kept the crowd cheering with a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Leonardo Leite in a three-round feature at 205 pounds. All three judges scored it the same: 30-27 for Davis.
"Leite was outmatched in all phases. Davis picked apart the two-time Olympic judoka with a stinging jab, sneaky overhand lefts and kicks to the legs, body and head," according to MMA website Sherdog.com. 'Mr. Wonderful' also handled Leite in the grappling exchanges and worked over the 39-year-old in the clinch, as he pinned him to the cage and assaulted him with knees to the body."
"I knew after Ed's fight that I had to go out there and show the fans that 'I am still Penn State,'" Davis said. "I really felt the crowd rallying around me as soon as my music hit and I made my walk down the ramp. Hopefully, the next time I compete at the Bryce Jordan Center, I have Bellator championship gold around my waist."
Davis was respectful of his veteran opponent Leite.
"When you have a guy that is undefeated, it is hard to get him in a position to where I can take him out," Davis said. "He still has that unbeaten confidence. He was pushing forward a lot. In some situations, I had to dig down and let my hands go a lot more."
Davis improves his overall record to 18-4 (5-1 in Bellator competition); Leite is now 10-1 in his career, suffering his first-ever loss in his Bellator premiere.
Storley remains perfect in MMA
Logan Storley, a four-time NCAA All-American for Minnesota, continued his flawless MMA career with a unanimous decision over Matt Secor in a three-round bout at 170 pounds. Cageside judges scored it 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 for the former Golden Gopher.
Storley -- who hails from Webster, S.D., the same hometown as Brock Lesnar -- managed to score numerous takedowns on Secor throughout the fight. The situation for the upstate New York native didn't look good in the middle of the first round, as Storley "split Secor open with an elbow and some heavy right hands. The blood is painting the canvas" (to quote CagesidePress.com).
"Thank you to everyone for the continued support," Storley wrote on his Facebook page Saturday. "Got to show some new skills last night. Learning every time I step in there. Thank you Robbie Lawler, Henri Hooft, Kami Barzini and Greg Jones. Also a big thanks to Dave Martin for everything he's done for my career. We are just getting started."
With the win, Storey is now 7-0 overall, and 2-0 since signing with Bellator, while Secor drops to 9-5 in his MMA career.
Claxton's knockout debut
Tywan Claxton made a splash in his first-ever professional MMA fight.
Here's how MMAjunkie.com described Claxton's brief but electrifying debut:
"Just short of 90 seconds into his Bellator 186 fight with Jonathan Bonilla-Bowman, "Speedy" rushed in, leaped in the air, reached for Bonilla-Bowman's head for a Thai plum, and threw a massive flying left knee -- all at the same time."
"Bonilla-Bowman was out cold on the canvas," MMAjunkie.com continued. "It took him nearly 2 minutes to get to his stool, and he needed help getting out of the cage."
Claxton -- a former Ohio Bobcat and King University wrestler -- spent just 1:29 in the cage with the one-time Hofstra/Virginia Tech matman before landing that flying knee in their 145-pound match originally slated for three rounds.
Claxton is now 1-0 as an MMA pro, while Bonilla-Bowman is 1-1.
Bader holds onto light-heavyweight title
"Linton Vassell was no match for Ryan Bader."
That was the opening line of Sherdog.com's coverage of Bellator 168's main event, which saw Bader -- a conference champ for the Arizona State Sun Devils -- score a knockout of Vassell at 3:58 of the second round of their light-heavyweight title bout.
"The systematic champion could not have been more dominant," Sherdog.com continued. "Bader managed to stomach a handful of leg kicks, executed a beautiful lateral drop and scored with another takedown in the first round, consolidating his efforts with positional control and ground-and-pound. Perhaps sensing the growing frustration in a wilting Vassell, he delivered two more takedowns in Round 2, where he climbed to an advantageous position, clamped down on the challenger's wrist and pummeled him with unabated left hands until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough."
Bader not only holds onto the Bellator light-heavyweight belt, but also improves his record to 24-5 overall, and 2-0 in Bellator, while Vassell drops to 18-6, 7-3 Bellator.
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