Apollo Beach 11-year-old rises world Jiu Jitsu ranks

APOLLO BEACH, Fla. - These days, 11-year-old Bryce Stone has a lot of medals to show off. You would probably be showing off some medals, too, if you were the No. 1 ranked jiu jitsu fighter in the world. 

Stone, however, wasn't always into martial arts. He started wrestling at a young age and picked up his new passion for jiu jitsu about two years ago. 

"The wrestling definitely helped but, at the same time, in some ways, it made it much worse," Stone said. "It was completely the opposite at first." 

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Training at the Gracie Apollo Beach Martian Arts gym, he has honed his craft. His talent, however, was almost instantly recognizable to his coaches. 

"Some kids just carry the natural talent. They can hang out and be comfortable. Or, some kids are obsessed," said gym owner Luis Mata. "He has both, and that is really rare and phenomenal."

Since trading in the wrestling mat for the jiu jitsu gym, meanwhile, Stone has dominated his competition by winning more than 100 matches on his way to capturing back-to-back Pan American titles. 

"I thought that was just amazing, because I won it two times in a row," said Stone. 

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After his most recent gold medals, he has performed well enough to be ranked as the top jiu jitsu fighter in his age and weight group in the world. 

"I always thought about being top five in the world and that it would be impossible. Like, how could anyone do that?" Stone said.

Now, he has done exactly that. With titles and gold medals won all before his 12th birthday, the sky may really be the limit for Stone. 

"He could be like these young athletes that are in there 20s that are so successful right now," Mata said. 

Along that journey, meanwhile, Stone is, of course, hoping to add a few more medals to his collection.