UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – It took a little bit of extra work, but Ed Ruth electrified his home fans with a massive second-round knockout at Bellator 186.

Ruth (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) stayed perfect as a pro and stopped UFC veteran Chris Dempsey (11-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a thudding right hand to the side of the head early in the middle frame. The former Penn State University All-American wrestler and Pennsylvania native then went into celebration mode.

The middleweight bout was part of the main card of today’s Bellator 186 event at Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State’s campus in University Park, Pa. It aired on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Ruth pumped his jab early and backed Dempsey up. Dempsey tried to go low, but Ruth easily fended it off and landed a right hand. He then pushed Dempsey back again with more jabs, but Dempsey stood in the pocket and threw back.

Seconds later, Ruth landed a kick, then took Dempsey to the canvas. He worked to take his back while his home fans chanted his name. Dempsey labored to get back to his feet, but Ruth was able to get a choke, then hopped to mount briefly. He worked around to side control and went after an armbar before posturing up.

Midway through the round, he again got on top and briefly had a choke attempt, then jumped to full mount to work ground-and-pound. Dempsey rolled over and Ruth took his back standing. With less than two minutes left, Dempsey got back to his feet and tried to restart. Ruth looked a little tired from the efrort, and with 30 seconds left Dempsey caught him in a choke, but Ruth survived it to go to the second.

Dempsey looked energized at the start of the second, but Ruth stood in with him and landed two big right hands. Then a third absolutely crumpled Dempsey’s feet. Ruth knew enough to walk away with the one-hitter quitter and his fourth knockout in four pro fights.

“(A knockout) was definitely the plan,” Ruth said. “I just wanted to show everyone I’m more than wrestling. I’m a complete fighter, and I’m a complete athlete. I just want to keep climbing the ranks. I just want to keep getting better and keep proving to everyone I can do this.”

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 186 results include:

• Ed Ruth def. Chris Dempsey via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:27
• Saad Awad def. Zach Freeman via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:07
• Scott Clymer def. Michael Benjamin Putnam via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:07
• Mike Wilkins def. Brett Martinez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:09
• Michael Trizano def. Mike Otwell via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 2:07
• Dominic Mazzotta def. Matthew Lozano via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 1, 2:37
• Logan Storley def. Matt Secor via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
• Tywan Claxton def. Jonathan Bonilla-Bowman via knockout (flying knee) – Round 1, 1:29
• Frankie Buenafuente def. Francis Healy via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Andrew Salas def. Ethan Goss via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Josh Fremd def. Ryan Parker via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:25

For complete coverage of Bellator 186, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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