Bartlesville's own 10-year-old MMA prodigy chases world champion dreams

In a quiet corner of a fighting gym located in the once-bustling Washington Park Mall in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, a young girl not only longs to be crowned the mixed martial arts world champion but go down as the greatest fighter of all time.

Since age five, Alaina Stout, now age 10, has trained to be the best under the close watch of her father/trainer, Houston Stout, and nothing short of that will do.

So far, she hasn't met a challenge she couldn't beat down and defeat, living up to her nickname, "The Enforcer."

"She's not something you hope to beat — you hope to survive," H. Stout said about his daughter's previous bouts. "She has it all. Fight IQ, speed, and strength; she can improvise and adapt; those aren't things you can fake."

A. Stout isn't much for words. Her one-word answer reflects her desire to show, not tell, when it comes to her abilities. Her father estimates her record over all the combat sports she has competed in to be 97-6.

She is currently the two-time GAMMA US National JR Champion and Texas State JR Champion in her age division.

"She choked out last year's world champion in less than a minute at nationals," H. Stout said. "She will be the world champion, no doubt in my mind."

After she turns 18, A. Stout doesn't want to enter the UFC. She wants to dominate it.

Being a UFC champion isn't enough for A. Stout. She wants to do it by age 19, smashing the previous record of being the youngest champion set by Jon Jones when he was 23. That is not the only record she is after; she also plans to beat Jones's record for most title fight wins, currently set at 15.

"I've trained with world champions, and I know what it takes to be world champion — she has it." H. Stout said about his daughter's goals.

But before the UFC, A. Stout must get to the GAMMA JR World Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she will compete against roughly 30 girls her age from different countries. To do that, her family needs to raise roughly $20,000.

The whole family is involved in trying to raise funds not only for A. Stout but also for her younger sister, 9-year-old Jasmine Stout, who also qualified for Worlds after coming in second at nationals.

"Traveling internationally is expensive,' H. Stout said. "They both qualified last year but didn't compete because we couldn't raise the funds in time."

The Stouts said anyone interested in sponsoring or helping the girls represent Oklahoma and the US at Worlds should donate to their online campaign or call the family-owned gym, Pantheon Martial Arts, at 918-332-5751.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville's own 10-year-old MMA prodigy chases world champion dreams