Ed Ruth signed a Pico deal with Bellator. He gets paid now, and they have his rights once he has finished wrestling. Both are wise investments by Bellator, although they may not pay off until 2020.
Ed Ruth plans to go MMA after Olympics
- Thread starter moosemonster
- Start date
I care. And so should you if you are a wrestling fan. MMA is important to the future of amateur wrestling whether you like it or not.
In Ruth's case, I suspect this means his wrestling career ends after 2016. And he is a phenomenal athlete. So I have a feeling he can "cut it" in MMA. Especially with the lesser competition of Bellator.
Askren dominated Bellator taking guys down and gently patting them. I don't imagine Ruth does much worse than that.
Nearly every mma analyst has him as one of the next big things. Along with many fighters themselves.
Thanks for telling me what I should care about. I am a wrestling fan, and I still don't care if Ed Ruth signed with Bellator. I like to watch him wrestle but I could give two s***s about Bellator or the UFC. I don't blame him for making money though.
As for the future of amateur wrestling... That lies the hands of amateur wrestling. If we as a sport depend on another sport(mma) to support us, we will be in serious trouble. Yes, it does bring exposure to wrestling but the powers that be in amateur wrestling could do a lot to make wrestling more fan friendly.
Why don't you think he'll cut it? He has the freak athleticism, freak reach and world class wrestling skill. That's a good start in my book, so I'm curious of your thoughts.
Nothing is going to save amateur wrestling in my opinion. It's a dying sport that will hang on to niche status. It revolves around grabbing another dudes crotch and starving yourself. Kids burnout of wrestling at a higher rate than any other sport (my growing up experience, none of my basketball friends looked forward to the end of the season, they rolled right into AAU with enthusiasm while I refused to touch a mat until summer and that was reluctantly.)
Nothing is going to save amateur wrestling in my opinion. It's a dying sport that will hang on to niche status. It revolves around grabbing another dudes crotch and starving yourself. Kids burnout of wrestling at a higher rate than any other sport (my growing up experience, none of my basketball friends looked forward to the end of the season, they rolled right into AAU with enthusiasm while I refused to touch a mat until summer and that was reluctantly.)
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Everybody has their own wrestling style I suppose but mine didn't revolve around grabbing another dudes crotch. Sounds like you didn't enjoy wrestling much, that's too bad. It isn't for everybody.
I was too sucked down to be aggressive, most of my offense came off letting a let the guy get in on a single, crack down, crotch lift to get the takedown. Crotch lifted myself to consecutive 7th place finishes (3A, so you know it was a real accomplishment
and haven't laced up since. I think very few people like to wrestle, there's a quote that I can't seem to find at the moment, but it goes something like you would have to be crazy to like to wrestle, there's no money, fame, or whatever, but the truly great ones love it.
Most looking at wrestling from the outside thinks it's stupid, gay, what have you and an increase in offense (the number one reason I hear why wrestling is dying) isn't going to change that. It's still two guys in leotards, groping each other to the untrained eye.
Wrestling is dying from within because of weight cutting, psycho parents, psycho coaches and that losing is scary.
In my opinion it's a two front war that can't be won.
Wrestling is hard. Its also been around since the beginning of time and its not going anywhere. Weight cutting is far safer than its ever been. There is no money or fame for any sport for 99.9 % of the population.I was too sucked down to be aggressive, most of my offense came off letting a let the guy get in on a single, crack down, crotch lift to get the takedown. Crotch lifted myself to consecutive 7th place finishes (3A, so you know it was a real accomplishment
I think very few people like to wrestle, there's a quote that I can't seem to find at the moment, but it goes something like you would have to be crazy to like to wrestle, there's no money, fame, or whatever, but the truly great ones love it.
Most looking at wrestling from the outside thinks it's stupid, gay, what have you and an increase in offense (the number one reason I hear why wrestling is dying) isn't going to change that. It's still two guys in leotards, groping each other to the untrained eye.
Wrestling is dying from within because of weight cutting, psycho parents, psycho coaches and that losing is scary.
In my opinion it's a two front war that can't be won.
I don't understand Cricket, but I don't live in India and I don't plan on playing it. Looks stupid to me (the untrained eye), but I fully encourage those that love it to play it and/or observe those playing. I also hate Soccer (just a comment I couldn't resist).
From my experience, those that think wrestling is "gay", are typically the ones that don't have the intestinal fortitude to step on the mat, certainly not for a sustained time period. Once again, because Wrestling is hard, that will wipe out interest in a good portion of the population right from the get-go. There will always be people willing to take the hard route, thankfullly.
This.
I strongly believe the whole move to AZ was MMA-related (supposedly there are a bunch of top gyms out there). I even agree with a poster on TheMat that he may just be marking time wrestling for now.
As someone else in the thread said, unless he has a glass jaw, he is going to be fearsome in MMA. I'm not an MMA fan (I generally avoid those wearing "affliction" gear), but I'll watch Ed tear guys apart.
Interesting... I decided to go to the NFHS website and just look at participation numbers from some random years.
1997-98 8900 teams and 229,176 participants
2007-08 10,090 teams and 259,688 participants
2013-14 10,668 teams and 269,514 participants
That's just the boys. Girls grew from 619 teams and 1907 participants in 1998 to 1516 teams and 9904 participants.
Granted this is high school data, but your context referred to youth wrestling right? No data for the sport of "crotch grabbing" though.
Well I guess wrestling isn't dying because wrestling numbers are moving proportionately with population increases in the United States.
177 dropped wrestling D1 programs, about 500 additional lower level college wrestling programs.
Of the 79 remaining D1 programs, how many programs get a regular crowd? 6?
We just had one of the biggest events in USA Wrestling and the attendance was piss-poor.
177 dropped wrestling D1 programs, about 500 additional lower level college wrestling programs.
Of the 79 remaining D1 programs, how many programs get a regular crowd? 6?
We just had one of the biggest events in USA Wrestling and the attendance was piss-poor.
Twister -- I agree but there is a little more than whether or not Ruth has a glass jaw. Like any boxer or MMA fighter, he very well could have a granite jaw and still not have the mental make-up to willingly have his face and head pummeled. There is a certain level of mental illness (I say that with respect) required to repeatedly take shots to the face.
I think wrestlers and jujitsu athletes have the best chance of overcoming the mental aspects of MMA. Ruth has already started training with other MMA fighters and my guess is he already knows whether or not he has what it takes to handle the mental side of MMA. My guess is the Belator people know this as well. Glass jaw or not, there isn't enough Jack Daniels in Tennessee for me to step in the cage with him.
I can't believe I'm replying to someone who thinks wrestling is about crotch grabbing.
The increase in wrestling participation in those numbers exceeds the increase in birth rate.
College wrestling has grown considerably in the number of programs on the collegiate level in the past 5-10 years. GG can probably give exact numbers.
I don't understand all the concern about wrestling not being a main stream sport. Other than football, baseball, and basketball (men's) what is a main stream sport. Would you cll hockey mainstream? Their are no girl's sports that I would call main stream. Now if you are saying the sport will die at the D1 level, maybe you have an argument. That is due to politics and women who hate men.
However, I think wrestling will always be around in some form or another and their will be fanatics following it. We will probably never be a mainstream spectator sport in America, but so what. It is for us to enjoy and grow from. Just because we do not have a lot of fans, doesn't mean the sport has not fulfilled its purpose. Why do we need the approval of others to enjoy our sport? Why do we care about the approval of others?
However, I think wrestling will always be around in some form or another and their will be fanatics following it. We will probably never be a mainstream spectator sport in America, but so what. It is for us to enjoy and grow from. Just because we do not have a lot of fans, doesn't mean the sport has not fulfilled its purpose. Why do we need the approval of others to enjoy our sport? Why do we care about the approval of others?
He was probably waiting to get your take. Now that he knows I'm sure he's done wrestling. Should all the other guys that likely won't win a spot just skip the tournament and reevaluate their lives?
Do I get to throw in my anecdotal bs as well then, to counter yours?
My HS saw the top basketball players quit completely, and 25 fans in the stands, while wrestling was deep and had hundreds Of rabid fans.
You've made your, largely redundant and worthless, point quite clear, move on.
If people are so into MMA for its "machismo", it'd be hard to turn around and simply call wrestling "crotch-grabbing" in leotards.
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