Tim Stout's Journey to Strikeforce on CBS

Tim Stout is a simple, hardworking, country boy that enjoys the excitement of being in a fight. Stout drives an undistinguished pickup truck, lives in an average house, and has a beautiful six year old pitbull. Stout owns a business and is getting married soon, presently he is completely satisfied with his life. He isn't a world champion, he doesn't wear a metal chain around his neck, he isn't a super athlete, and he doesn’t want to become the best fighter in the world. His motivation for fighting is putting himself in harms way to feel the euphoric rush of punching someone and getting hit back. The applause and cheers from the crowd, to be in the spotlight. This fascinates me. Tim Stout puts himself in harms way because he is addicted to that rush. He has gone from fighting in barns to fighting on a major television network with millions of people watching. Stout is prepared for his ultimate high. What is capable of a man who isn't afraid to lose?

When I asked Stout what was it like growing up in Tennessee he seemed baffled by the question. "Um I don't know." He looked at me like "why would you want to know something like that?" Stout continues, "It was a really small community. Everybody knew everybody; there was only four traffic lights in the whole town. Half of the people in the farmed and the other half worked." Needless to say living in Johnson City did not provide enough stimulation for Stout. Growing up Stout said he was infatuated with Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee. At the young age of 8 he wanted to be a Ninja master, eventually his parents enrolled him into a local Karate school. Stout took to Karate quite well winning several local tournaments at age 9. Stout comments, "I knew I was good because I was bringing home trophies bigger than me."

Subsequently Stout became bored with Karate because of the limited physical contact. Stout moved out of his home town and into the city. There he started training to become a Boxer. Living in the city Stout got a job working with troubled youths. Stout admittedly declared, "working with troubled youths was the most rewarding job I ever had." he continued, "I got to help kids that desperately needed your help. You had kids that everyone those kids knew had given up on them. To give these kids a little glimmer of hope, (pauses) you truly feel like you have impacted that person’s life in a positive way. After 8 years his love of Boxing faded, Stout said "I didn't want to compete in Boxing; I wanted to be the best fighter not the best puncher." 

The last three years Stout has been living in Georgia, teaching at his brand new gym in Noonan. The record of the amateurs Stout has trained is 45-7. "I fight to hurt people" I asked Stout how it feels returning to Tennessee. He responded jubilantly, "I'm super excited! Nashville is several hours away from my home town, and a lot of friends and family are making the trip. This will be my first time fighting in Tennessee, so I am really excited. It is such a rush to win (pauses) for everybody to know who you are. Everybody wants to know you, everybody wants to talk to you. Even before I was being paid to fight, I loved to fight. Getting paid is just icing on the cake. To be paid and noticed for fighting is an awesome concept."

"I never wanted a manager, because they seemed like a waste of time. I thought since they didn't get punched in the face they were no good. Jeff (from Sponsored Fan) really changed the way I thought about managers. He has gotten me more fights and sponsors than I would have by myself. I could call Jeff right now and ask him for gas money and he would hand it over to me no questions asked, because he is that kind of guy. Managers don't do that. And this sponsorship money from Hitman Fight Gear, Full Tilt Poker, and Fighter Warehouse feels really good."

If you look at Stout's 12-7 record and laugh or scoff at it, please do realize these people are the backbone of our sport. Journeymen exist to challenge prospects, be exciting draws in the local community, and to fight whenever available no matter what the risk. If a prospect beats a regional journeyman, the prospect is able to escape the local scene and move on. Should Jason Miller go from fighting for the title to fighting little known Tim Stout? No of course not, but it presents a once in a lifetime opportunity for Stout.

SBN coverage of Strikeforce: Nashville on CBS