Happy Warrior: Local MMA fighter Nathan Stearns goes pro

Nathan Stearns trains Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Peak Performance in Cape Girardeau. Having racked up an amateur record of 13-5 (and one no contest), Stearns made his professional debut in November, starting what he hopes will be a viable career in MMA. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

 Nathan Stearns, left, runs a drill with fellow fighter Ghenadie Bitco during training session Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Peak Performance in Cape Girardeau.  (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Sweat falls from the face of Nathan Stearns as he leads a training session Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Peak Performance in Cape Girardeau. Stearns said his work ethic -which some, including his mother, Kim, ascribe at least in part to Nathan's distinct stubbornness- is a key asset, especially considering his remove in Cape Girardeau from the type of resources available in more metropolitan areas where MMA enjoys a more robust following. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Stearns wrings sweat from his shirt after a training session Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Peak Performance in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Stearns uses a broken mop to clean the mats after his training partners left for the night after a training session Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Peak Performance in Cape Girardeau. Stearns said he feels at home in the self-discipline of martial arts, rather than the chaos and violence of fighting that entices some fighters. As the wall at the gym says, Stearns aspires to "train like a champion," or rather, like a professional. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Despite technically being a professional fighter, the realities of being an unsigned athlete on a small-market circuit means a good deal of the promotional gruntwork before the fight falls on Stearns's shoulders as well. Stearns hit the bars Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Downtown Cape Girardeau for several hours, chatting up strangers and trying to sell tickets one by one, a process about which he was deeply uncomfortable. "I know it's funny," he said at one point, surveying a pool hall for possible fight fans to approach. "I'll fight anyone but I'm not really comfortable approaching people like strangers." The transaction seen here was his only sale of the night, though he persisted and in the weeks leading up to the fight sold enough tickets to make several hundred dollars through his cut of sales. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Shortly before 2 a.m., Stearns shadowboxes while listening to a motivational talk by a fighter he admires on his phone to warm up before his usual 3.1-mile run from his parents home, where he lives, to the Emerson Bridge and back Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

His professional debut, he said, was the rare fight for which he didn't have to drastically cut or gain weight, Stearns said. By adhering to a moderate diet starting about a month and a half prior to the fight, Stearns said he hit his goal weight easily a few days before the fight. Here, he debates on whether to add greens to his post-workout apple and kombucha, which he drinks for the probiotics, Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, at Wal-Mart in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Stearns tears down a box while talking with coworkers Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019, at Hardee's in Cape Girardeau. Stearns said a big part of why he wants to go pro with MMA is because he expects his disposition is less suited to more conventional jobs. He said he finds a purpose in his pursuit of athletic excellence that he imagines would be difficult to live without. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

On fight night, Stearns steals a quiet moment on a nearby playground after getting his hands taped to watch the crowd gather outside the arena across the parking lot Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at the A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau. He said he wasn't nervous as much as he was relieved it was finally happening. "It's been a lot of work (to get here) but now whatever happens, you know, win or lose I just have to keep going." (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Back in his Dragon Ball Z costume, Stearns warms up in the basement of the fight venue Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at the A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Part of Stearns's pre-fight ritual is reading from "The Art of Peace," a book detailing the martial-arts philosophy of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at the A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau. The book celebrates the virtue of wisdom and compassion for fighters, including the principle of inflicting as little injury as possible on an opponent; only enough to defend oneself and win the encounter. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Stearns waits in the stage wings to be announced for the first time as a professional fighter Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at the A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Nathan Stearns, left, squares off against Brian Brooks, right, during their headlining bout Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at the A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Nathan Stearns basks in cheers from the crowd betwen rounds Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at the A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau. "I'm here to win," he said before the fight. "But I'm also, I don't know, I'm a showman too." (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Nathan Stearns delivers a kick to the body of Brian Brooks during a fight Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at the A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)

Nathan Stearns laughs as family members hug him after winning his first professional fight Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, at the A.C. Brase Arena in Cape Girardeau. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)