When Bellator MMA announced earlier this week that it plans to host an eight-man welterweight grand prix, several potential players came to mind.
The current champ, Rory MacDonald. Paul Daley, of course. Douglas Lima. Michael Page. Andrey Koreshkov. Lorenz Larkin.
Bellator president Scott Coker had another name on the tip of his tongue during the announcement, one that might surprise some.
"We want to see how Ed Ruth looks this weekend," Coker told ESPN.
Ruth (5-0) will face Andy Murad (15-2) at Bellator 201 on Friday, in Temecula, California. He's not an obvious candidate for a grand prix. For one thing, Friday's appearance will be his first at 170 pounds. And just his sixth overall.
Despite Ruth's lack of experience, Bellator clearly has interest in adding him to the field. Fighting out of Fresno, Ruth says the promotion put the tournament on his radar one month ago, and he's more than willing to accept the invitation if it comes.
"Yeah, kinda," laughed Ruth, when asked whether Friday's bout will serve as a tryout. "When I saw it, man, I said, 'I definitely want to be in that. And if anyone has precedence over me, can I fight him to get in?'"
Ruth, 27, has been one of Bellator's premier prospects since he signed with the company in 2015. A three-time NCAA national champion in wrestling, Ruth didn't even make his debut until late 2016 but has lived up to expectations. Four of his five wins have come via knockout.
He was asked to train with former UFC champions Jon Jones and Chris Weidman before his pro debut and has shared the mats with Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose.
Still, potentially taking on the likes of a MacDonald this early in his career would be a monumental task -- but it's one Ruth wants.
"They were telling me about this competition, and my first thought was, 'OK, what's the next best thing while this is going on?'" Ruth said. "And then I said, 'No, this is the best thing for me right now.' I look at the guys on this Bellator roster, and I want to fight them now."
In addition to the tournament, Ruth has ideas about entering a boxing ring in the near future. Ideally, whether it's boxing or MMA, he'd like to fight four to five times per year.
Things are obviously moving quickly for the 170-pound prospect, but any setback on Friday could put a stop to bigger plans. Maybe it is a tryout for Ruth's invitation to the grand prix, but he'll try to enter the cage not thinking that way.
"I'm kind of just looking at this as one more fight that leads into another," Ruth said. "Everybody says it's the world grand prix, but I don't need to work myself up. In my mind, I don't even need to know that's happening. I just tell myself this is another step forward."