SANTA MONICA, CALIF (December. 6, 2016) – It was announced today that one of MMA’s hottest prospects, En Ruth (1-0), will waste no time continuing to build his resume, as he fights Emanuele Palombi (5-2) for his second fight in as many months. The bout takes place deze vrijdag bij "Bellator 168: Sakara vs. Beltran," op December. 10 from the Mandela Forum in Florence and will air LIVE and FREE on SPIKE at 4pm ET/PT.
Op slechts 26 jaar oud, Ruth is looking to pave the way for the other members of “The New Breed," a group of highly accomplished wrestlers who have all signed to fight under the Bellator MMA banner including: Joey Davis (1-0), Tyrell Fortune (1-0), Jarod Trice (1-0) evenals Aaron Pico en Romero Katoen – the last of which have yet to make their highly anticipated professional debuts. Before he was a three-time National Champion and four-time All-American wrestler at Penn State University, Ruth attended the world-renown Blair Academy in Susquehanna Township, PA, where he was the top-ranked recruit in the nation for his weight class. Having achieved great success at every stage of competition throughout his life, Ruth aspires to have the Bellator middleweight gold around his waist before long. After making the move across the country to Fresno, Calif., where he now trains at Dethrone Basecamp with other Bellator MMA fighters like Josh Koscheck en Chris Honeycutt, Ruth made his professional MMA debut just last month on November. 4, when he finished Dustin Collins-Miles with strikes at 3:19 in de eerste ronde.
Ruth now faces Rome’s Palombi, a seven-fight veteran with five victories including three KO’s and one submission. Ruth, who is taking the fight on less than a week’s notice, must quickly learn how to tune out a hometown crowd, who will certainly be heavily in favor of the Italian fighter.
The evening is highlighted by a main event featuring Italy’s most renowned mixed martial artist Alessio Sakara (18-11, 2 NC), who will duke it out with Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran (17-13, 1 NC) in a light heavyweight main event. Other Bellator MMA competitors will also be in action, inclusief John Salter (12-3), Yamauchi up (31-9) en Philipe Lins(10-1).
The Bellator Kickboxing brand will also be on display in Italy with a card that features a female flyweight rematch between Denise Kielholtz (45-3) en Gloria Peritore (11-1-1), but this time, a world title will be on the line. "Bellator Kickboxing: Florence” will also include a lightweight clash between Giorgio Petrosyan (82-2-2, 1 NC) and British kickboxing champion Jordan Watson (48-11-2), a middleweight matchup pitting Joe Schilling (19-9) tegen Victorio Lermano (30-7), a welterweight contest pairing Luca Novello (22-4-2) met Karim Ghajji (96-13-1), en Kevin Ross(31-9) ontmoet Alessio Arduini (26-14-2) in een lichtgewicht gevecht. "Bellator Kickboxing: Florence” airs Vrijdag, December. 16 bij 11:15 pm ET, immediately following "Bellator 169: Koning Mo vs. Ishii.”
Complete "Bellator 168: Sakara vs. Beltran” Card:
Light Heavyweight Feature Vecht: Alessio Sakara (18-11, 2 NC) vs. Joey Beltran (17-13, 1 NC)
Light Heavyweight Feature Vecht: Philipe Lins (10-1) vs. Kleber Raimundo Silva (12-7)
Middleweight Feature Fight: John Salter (12-3) vs. Claudio Annicchiarico (1-4)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Yamauchi up (31-9) vs. Mircea Valeriu (12-3)
Middleweight Feature Fight: En Ruth (1-0) vs. Emanuele Palombi (5-2)
Complete “Bellator Kickboxing: Florence” Card:
Lightweight Feature Fight: Giorgio Petrosyan (82-2-2, 1 NC) vs. Jordan Watson (48-11-2)
Flyweight World Title: Denise Kielholtz (45-3) vs. Gloria Peritore (11-1-1)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Joe Schilling (19-9) vs. Victorio Lermano (30-7)
Weltergewicht Feature Vecht: Luca Novello (22-4-2) vs. Karim Ghajji (96-13-1)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Kevin Ross (31-9) vs. Alessio Arduini (26-14-2)