During my single days, I was a middle-school teacher and a professional MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter on the side. I have now been married for approximately 1.5 years, have a child on the way, and have switched to a better-paying job that I love. It has been over 2 years since I entered a professional ring. Now, I am again scheduled to fight on Feb. 25 (technically, this one is on a cage, so I won’t be returning to the ring).

I’m more nervous than I used to be before a fight. Some might even say scared. Naturally, when I get scared about something I like to look for someone to blame. In this case, I’m going to go with Capcom.

My current situation is almost all due to Capcom developing the Street Fighter series. I was in elementary school when the original Street Fighter came out. I played it all the time at the arcade, but could never get past Birdie (that’s kind of beside the point). For some reason that game made me daydream about some sort of fighting tournament without rules.

Then I saw Jean Claude Van Damme’s Bloodsport, and I was hooked on the idea. By the time I was on the high school wrestling team, Street Fighter II was becoming all the rage at the local arcades. I can’t really blame Van Damme for my current situation, because these days it’s much cooler to blame video games for childhood development issues.

Truthfully, I think I’m just preoccupied with growing old and missing out on things. Some people think I play video games to prolong my childhood. I don’t agree at all. I play video games because I find them much more entertaining than other mediums.

I think I do things like enter pro fights to prolong my youth. I have always had a fear of growing too old to do something that I have always dreamed of. I’m worried if I give up fighting now, then I will look back when I’m 50 and regret it. I’m scared of getting hurt, but I’m terrified of wasting my life.

Part of me thinks that I need to focus more on being a husband and father than I do on being a father. The other part of me is very proud that I made it to the pro ranks, and I want my child to see that if you work hard at something you can succeed. Part of me just thinks it sounds cool to say I’m a pro fighter, even though I’m getting to that age where I don’t really give a damn about impressing others. Hopefully, it will all work out for the best.