TOP ATHLETE OF THE PAST 30 YEARS: JARRETT ROUSE (COMMUNITY)

By Mike Tupa

Sept. 29, 2025

BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT

During his nearly 30 years of covering area high school sports for either the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise or the Bartlesville Area Sports Report, Mike Tupa has enjoyed the opportunity to observe some incredible athletes.

This is an ongoing series highlighting each few days one of those athletes from the 1996-97 school year through the present. The list is not in chronological order. The athletes are presented in random sequence.

TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT

JARRETT ROUSE (Community)

Boxing/kickboxing/MMA

Rouse focused his considerable athletic skills in the fighting ring.

Whether traditional stand-up boxing, kickboxing or MMA, Rouse was a welterweight-sized stick of dynamite.

He was tougher than rhino hide — not only physically but emotionally. He came by his gladiator instincts naturally — his mother Brenda Rouse had been a world champion in both women’s kickboxing and women’s boxing and his dad Randy had a wealth of experience as a competitor, coach, promoter and contacts with some of the fighting game’s biggest movers and shakers.

Jarrett fashioned a career of championship-belt caliber and an enthusiastic, eclectic fan base throughout Oklahoma and elsewhere.

How many other fighters could break their arms in a fight and rally to win it?

That’s what Rouse did in 2010 as a young kickboxer.

It happened during a Team Rouse Fight Night in Dewey. Rouse broke his arm while delivering a blow that knocked his bigger opponent to the canvas. Rouse and his wounded wing went to a neutral corner.

The foe got up and took an eight-count and the battle resumed. But not for long.

Rouse blasted his foe with a leg kick, faked a right-hand punch and delivered a crushing left hook that ended the fight for good.

Rouse waited until the end of the show prior to going to the hospital to have his arm immobilized and casted. The hardship cost Rouse a spot on a big out-of-town fight card the next month.

Rouse continued in kickboxing and MMA — with great success — for the next few years. But around 2014 he segued into stand-up boxing.

During his first 11 fights during the next two-and-a-half years, or so, he hammered out a 10-0-1 record.

In addition, he received a coveted invitation to train for several months at the iconic Wild Card Gym, located in Southern California.

But as time went on and in what seemed to be a bit of a lull in boxing opportunities, Rouse decided to return to kickboxing, at least temporarily.

In reality, Rouse’s first foray into serious fighting had started with traditional boxing, motivated by Golden Gloves competition encouraged by the Team Rouse Fight Gym, operated by his father and mentor Randy.

But Jarrett eventually devoted himself to kickboxing and MMA.

What a ride!

He burst to a 23-0 record as a kickboxing amateur. The highlight? In 2012 he defeated James “Whitey” Warren, 50-44, in a championship battle held at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Dewey. The scrappy victory earned Rouse the Universal Kickboxing Federation U.S. Welterweight title belt. After that victory Rouse’s amateur kickboxing record stood at 17-0.

He would improve to 22-0 in a brutal fight during which a hard blow in the first round nearly stopped him but he rallied to win. Rouse would enter the ring once more as an amateur kickboxer to improve to 23-0.

Ironically, he came up short in his first pro kickboxing fight — due to a broken hand. But he still gritted it out the distance.

Meanwhile, he started out in cage fighting (MMA) at 11-0 in amateur bouts and then recorded a 2-0 pro record.

In early 2014, Rouse made a return to MMA after recovering from a shattered knuckle suffered several months before. Rouse needed just 48 seconds to win the comeback, staged at Tulsa Hard Rock Cafe. 

Rouse reportedly broke his opponent’s nose on the first punch. A few seconds later the opponent lifted Rouse off the mat with the intention of body slamming him. But Jarrett managed to wriggle into a different position and landed on top of his opponent, which led to a tapout.

As 2014 went on, Rouse transitioned back to traditional boxing as part of the Four State Franchise fighting team, which held shows in Miami, Okla.

After spending a few years in boxing, Rouse decided to segue back into kickboxing/MMA. He continued to show up strong but he had begun to raise a family and started up a new business and eventually retired from the ring.

Rouse journeyed through many phases in his career as a ring battler. But he brought the same assets whenever he climbed into the competitive spotlight — unapologetic toughness, unrelenting preparation, total focus, a rugged tolerance to pain and unconquerable determination.

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This series has featured the following athletes, listed in no particular order.

-Jena’ Williams, Bartlesville

-Eric Rolfs, Bartlesville

-Chris Smith, Caney Valley

-Jill Bryan, Copan

-Barron Tanner Jr, Bartlesville

-Hailey Tucker, Bartlesville

-Jeremy Dunkle, Dewey

-Whitney Metcalf, Bartlesville

-Tim Hamilton, Bartlesville

-Danielle Koster, Bartlesville

-Carson LaRue, Dewey

-John Hamman, Wesleyan Christian

-Jamie Elam, Caney Valley

-Sam Mitchell, Bartlesville

-Karissa Jones, Dewey

-Noah Hartsock, Bartlesville

-Tiffany Paper, Copan

-AJ Parker, Bartlesville

-Tiffany Eden, Caney Valley

-Henry Williams, Bartlesville

-Markell Carter, Bartlesville

-Rebecca Schluter, Wesleyan Christian

-Adam Hibdon, Barnsdall

-Tishuana Hunter, Nowata

-Nate Alleman, Bartlesville

-Jessie Burch, Dewey

-Joey McNair, Caney Valley/Bartlesville

-Michael Thompson, Bartlesville

-Kate Steward, Bartlesville

(Left) Jarrett Rouse