NEWTON, Kan. (KSNW) — An MMA gym in small-town Kansas is developing world-class talent. Three young ladies from Ultimate Martial Arts in Newton are taking the mat at the 10th Annual World Pankration Athlima Championship in Romania.
The event is from Oct. 23 to 28. The athletes will participate in pankration, or youth MMA, which includes sparring, judo, jiu-jitsu, and kickboxing.
“I’m really excited, it’s a new experience. Being 12 years old and a female, it is very awesome,” said Eliana Mehigan, 12-year-old fighter and Wichita native.
Mehigan has more than five years of experience in pankration. She is joined by teammates Shaley Campbell and Hailey Haney on their first trip to Romania.
Campbell spent most of her life in taekwondo, earning a black belt. This will be her third ever MMA event. Haney is the gym’s team captain, and has won gold medals on the state, national and international level.
All three athletes have medaled in Kansas. They qualified for the world championship through an audition process.
“It’s much bigger than Newton, Kansas, much bigger than representing Kansas, it’s representing USA. Our country,” said Ultimate Martial Arts head coach Chris Rangel.
“I’m so excited and honored to represent our country and get that gold. You have to be dedicated not only at the gym but at home to being able to prepare and be mentally prepared also,” said Goessel native Haney.
To get to this point, the teens have put in relentless work.
“They are training about four hours a day, Monday through Thursday,” explained Rangel, “Saturday mornings, they’re here at 8 a.m. and they’ll be here until 12, 1 p.m.”
On top of training, the girls also maintain perfect grades. They have additional cardio conditioning and a strict sleep schedule.
“When you finally get to where you want to be it’s paying off. And sure, we’re teammates but we’re also like a family. We have a really close bond.,” explained Mehigan.
“It’s definitely a lot of work. It’s super worth it, though. You just see all the improvement day by day,” said Campbell, a 14-year-old Wichita native. “Even though I’ve just started, I think I’ve improved a lot, and I just want to let people know that I’m not just what they see me as at school.”
This competition is one step in their ultimate journey to success.
“I want to make it to the Olympics, maybe even be UFC Champion, and just stay in this sport forever,” added Haney.
Their goal is to make a name for themselves in their youth before they reach the next level.
“Right now, MMA is the fastest growing sport. They’ve had over 10 million brand new MMA martial artists in these past four years,” said Rangel, “They can be on the platform so when the IOC says ‘Hey, we’re ready to choose that number one Team USA,’ our kids are already in the pocket.