UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Welterweights Ed Ruth and Jason Jackson put on a thriller Friday night.
A sleeper fight on the Bellator 231 main card, Ruth (7-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) and Jackson (10-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) walked away from Bellator 231 with their fair shares of bumps and bruises after the the final bell was run.
The decision was split with two judges scoring the bout in favor of the winner and Penn State University alumnus Ruth. The scores were 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.
A relative newcomer to Bellator, Jackson signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion earlier this year. He made quite the impression on his new bosses when he rocked Ruth with a whipping head kick in the opening minutes of the fight. The shot sliced Ruth open above his left eye.
The second round was a back-and-forth affair with both men standing and trading in the pocket. Neither fighter showed fear or hesitation to extend past their comfort zone.
The third round magnified the buzz and excitement inside the Mohegan Sun Arena. An overhand right from Jackson knocked Ruth to the ground. After several hammerfists from Jackson, “EZ” Ruth somehow survived. Ruth was able to secure a series of takedowns towards the end of the fight to make it even more difficult to score.
With the victory, Ruth has won back-to-back fights since being eliminated from the Bellator welterweight grand prix. Meanwhile, Jackson had his three-fight win streak snapped.
The welterweight bout was part of the Bellator 231 main card. The main card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 231 results include:
- Ed Ruth def. Jason Jackson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ilara Joanne def. Bec Rawlings via submission (kneebar) – Round 2, 3:35
- Jake Hager vs. Anthony Garrett ends in no contest due to an unintentional low blow by Hager – Round 1, 1:56
- Phumi Nkuta def Adrian Haley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Connor Dixon def. Orkhan Ismatzade via submission (kimura) – Round 1, 0:42
- Killys Mota def. Mandel Nallo via TKO (injury) – Round 3, 1:16
- Jessy Miele def. Talita Nogueira via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
- Steve Mowry def. Gokhan Saricam via submission (kimura) – Round 2, 0:56
- Dalton Rosta def. Claude Wilcox via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 4:23
- Tim Caron def. Lucas Pimenta Borges via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jon Manley def. Thiago Oliveira via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Elise Reed def. Rebecca Bryggman via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:48
