Ahead of his Bellator 239 main event bout with Yaroslov Amosov, Ed Ruth spoke to FanSided about his personality and unique training methods.

Bellator 239 headliner Ed Ruth might be the chillest fighter on the planet. In a sport filled with chest-beating, loudly dressed alpha males constantly trying to be the most noticed person in the room, Ruth is a steady source of quiet calm and humility.

Even dating back to his days at Penn State, where Ruth won three wrestling national championships, commentators and fans alike were taken aback by Ruth’s calm in the midst of heated competition. When Ruth won each of those three championships (an accomplishment only 25 other wrestlers ever have matched), he celebrated little beyond briefly raising his arms, just a hint of a smile creeping across his sleepy face.

With his transition from wrestling to MMA, nothing has changed. Ruth is still shockingly relaxed and composed during competition and forever humble in victory or defeat. He celebrates in the same understated way and has the demeanor more of a librarian than cagefighter.

Where does this chill come from?

“It just comes from the preparation,” Ruth told FanSided. “I just know that I spend a lot of time and believe in the way that I train. I do a lot of weird things when I train. For me, I consider reading a book training. Being able to sit there and stare at a page for a while with all my focus and attention, that is considered training to me.”

With a chuckle, Ruth describes himself as a “book nerd.”

“I really read any book. Any type of self-help book, anything that’s thought-provoking. I love fiction; I’m a big fan of Dean Kuntz… I used to read a lot of Japanese manga, too.”

Ruth is currently reading The Laws of Human Nature, by Robert Greene, a 600-page exploration into human emotion and motivation. His unique “training” doesn’t stop with reading. All of it, though, goes into creating a calm yet confident fighter.

“I do a lot of Tai Chi, a lot of breathing, a lot of things that put me at ease out there. And I’m carrying that into the cage, it makes me feel like I’m better prepared for this person that’s placed in front of me. I feel like whatever the outcome of this match, it will be in my favor.”

Of course, Ruth is human and isn’t immune to normal human emotions. In his last bout, he eked out a split decision win over Jason Jackson in an unexpected slugfest. Ruth is critical of his performance, recognizing his emotional response to Jackson hurting him.

“That was one of those fights where you get suckered into staying on your feet. That machismo. That macho-ness, that you’re gonna stand here and bang with this guy. And there were times in that fight where I just got caught up in that mindset and I was on my feet for too long. When I look back on that fight, it was a good fight but I was mad I didn’t use my wrestling more, I was mad I took so much punishment.”

On Feb. 21, Ruth will square off with the 22-0 Yaroslav Amosov in the main event of Bellator 239. On paper, it’s a risky fight for Ruth; Amosov is both relatively unknown and one of the most dangerous welterweights in Bellator.

Always confident but never cocky, Ruth disagrees that this is risky matchmaking for him.

“If anything, it’s a risky fight for Amosov,” he said. “If he loses, then his shiny record is gone. But for me, I feel like this fight is appropriate for me… I see myself as somebody that’s deserving of someone that’s 22-0. I feel like I have nothing to prove here.”

Indeed, Ruth exudes that “I have nothing to prove” attitude. He doesn’t have any strong opinions about other welterweight contenders like Lorenz Larkin or Michael “Venom” Page, nor is he going to campaign for a title shot before either of them. Even when it comes to matchmaking, Ruth remains… chill.

“I feel like when the time comes, when the opportunity comes to get the belt, it’s when it comes.”

With the recent announcement that Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima will challenge for the vacant middleweight title later this year, some welterweights might be frustrated that the title will essentially be on hold while Lima tries his luck a weight class up. Ruth, however, embraces Lima’s plan to be a two-weight champion, even if it delays his own path to the title.

“Even though they might put the [welterweight] belt on hold for a while, if [Lima] wins the belt, then he comes back down to 170. Either way, I still see it as good for our division. Me, personally, I guess I’m just a crazy guy. If I beat — when I beat Lima, I want to beat the guy who won two belts. It’s just more to my resume,” said Ruth.

Beating Lima, handing Amosov his first career loss, or even becoming a two-weight champion himself (Ruth began his MMA career at middleweight), would all be huge accomplishments for Ruth. But don’t think for a second that any of those accomplishments — which are anything but “normal” — would make Ruth any less humble.

Ruth’s quiet calm, his impressive level of chill, will never change.

“I just know that I’m a normal person and I live a normal everyday life,” he said. “I feel like a lot of people, their circumstances dictate who they are. As their circumstances improve, they think their personality would improve. But personality, it’s all in your head. It’s all those habits lying in memories.”

Bellator 239 takes place on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020, live from the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, OK. Follow along with FanSided MMA for all things Bellator.