Ed RuthEd Ruth and Tyrell Fortune are hoping that lightning strikes twice in the same place, as the two former college wrestling champs are returning to the site where both made their successful professional mixed martial arts debuts for the same promotion at the same location on the same night at Bellator 163 in November 2016.
Bellator announced Wednesday that Ruth and Fortune will both be on the preliminary card for the organization's Bellator 178 event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. on Friday, April 21, the same venue which hosted their first pro MMA appearances at Bellator 163.
Ruth, three-time NCAA Division I mat champ for Penn State, will take on Aaron Goodwine in a middleweight match-up, while Fortune, a two-time NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) heavyweight champ at Oregon's Clackamas Community College and 2013 NCAA Division II titlewinner at Grand Canyon University in Arizona, will face Branko Busick.
Since making his debut at Bellator 163 -- where he scored a first-round TKO over Dustin Collins-Miles -- the 26-year-old Ruth added another Round One TKO victory over Emanuele Palombi at Bellator 168 in Florence, Italy in mid-December 2016 for a 2-0 pro record. His Bellator 178 opponent Goodwine is 1-0 as a professional.
Fortune, also 26, made an impressive debut at Bellator 163 with a TKO over Cody Miskell. In January, Fortune notched his second victory -- also by TKO -- this time over Will Johnson at Bellator 171 in Kansas in late January. Busick is making his professional debut.
Bellator 178 is headlined by a featherweight championship bout between Daniel Straus and Patricio Freire. The main card will be televised on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT, with prelims streaming on Bellator.com immediately prior.
UPDATE 4/19/17: Ed Ruth will face a different opponent. Instead of Aaron Goodwine, the former Penn State champ will go up against David Mundell, who has a 6-2 pro record.
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