He fights because he likes the competition.

He fights to test himself.

He fights because it’s something he’s good at.

And he fights because it’s, well, fun.

“It kind of became an addiction. Just wanted to do it again and test myself further,” said Truman Yeary, a senior accounting major and the president of the Campus Activities Board, which he has been a part of for four years. But before he became president of CAB at Missouri Southern, Yeary competed in Mixed Martial Arts.

He grew up in Neosho, but he lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas for a few years.

He played soccer in high school, but more recently, he started by learning Brazilian Jujitsu. After that, he learned Judo and kickboxing.

Once he had enough experience with combat sparring, he became interested in cage fighting.

One big plus with working in martial arts: it controls your weight. And since he gained a bit of weight after high school, Yeary began learning martial arts to keep in shape.

“I’m a competitive person, and it’s something I try to keep the competitive nature going,” Yeary said.

This month, students can vote for Yeary to become Homecoming king. But anytime next summer they will be able to cheer him on when he returns to the cage.

Yeary’s plan is to graduate in two months, begin martial arts training in January 2011 and return to combative sports next summer.  

More future plans include earning his master’s degree and passing the certified public accountant exam.