Rudy Papakee isn’t your typical ISU student – but that has nothing to do with him being the only ISU student fighting in the first mixed martial arts event ever at Hilton Coliseum this Saturday at 8 p.m.

Papakee is the definition of an “unconventional” student. After, in his words, “going nowhere fast” during his 20s, the 31-year-old senior in health and human performance lives in Tama with his wife and four children. He makes the hour-long trek to Ames each day, staying around just long enough to attend his classes before returning to Tama to spend time with his family and work on his MMA skills when the opportunity arises.

“I don’t train every day, I train when I can depending on the family situation,” Papakee said. “Family’s got to come first with me. If my wife’s not happy, I’m not going to be happy.”

Papakee has been a mixed martial artist for seven months and has quickly earned an impressive 4-0 record. On Saturday, the heavyweight puts his undefeated record on the line against “Big Country” Dan Hutton (7-1) as part of “Coliseum Carnage 1,” a mixed martial arts event presented by Fight Sport Global Network and Extreme Contact Fighting.

“I’m hoping there’s a great turnout. Just being in a major venue like that is unreal,” Papakee said. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m really excited to fight.”

Despite his relative inexperience, Papakee’s family certainly isn’t new to MMA. His brother-in-law, Andre Roberts, is famous for his Ultimate Fighting Championship battles during the late 1990s and is even a playable character in the UFC video game for Sega Dreamcast.

“My brother-in-law fights, so [my wife] understands the fighting schedule and training schedule, so she gets a little irritated a times,” Papakee said. “But for this fight I only trained three weeks. I was injured one of those weeks, so really I’ve only been training two weeks for this fight.”

Even with his recent success, Papakee doesn’t intend to become a full-time fighter. He says he wants to attend a graduate school and focus on health care administration. Upon graduation, he wants to work for the Meskwaki tribe, of which he is a member.

“When I started training full-time my grades kind of slipped a little bit, so I backed off and focused on school,” he said. “[MMA’s] just a hobby for me. It’s nothing I’ll ever try to do for a career. I mean, some people ride bikes, some people collect rocks – I fight.”

Josh “The Dentist” Neer, however, has made a full-time career out of being a professional fighter. Because he has defeated the likes of Joe Stevenson and Melvin Guillard in UFC, the top MMA company in the world, the Des Moines-native can financially support himself through competing. He currently trains full-time with acclaimed veteran Pat Miletich at the Miletich Fighting Systems training center in Davenport.

“I would say that it’s the sponsorship that keeps people from having to get a job. At my level, it’s not the fights. It’s the extra money you gain from sponsorships,” said Neer, a 170-pound welterweight with a 20-5-1 record who began his fighting career battling in amateur fights at Toad Holler, a now-defunct Des Moines-area bar, during the early part of the decade.

An intense fighter known for his ground-and-pound skills, Neer recently signed with Pride Fighting Championship, once UFC’s top competitor before being bought out by UFC owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III in late March. With plans to keep the promotions separate, Neer says it’s a possibility he’ll compete in either organization now that they’re promoted by the same owners.

Even with the ability to compete anywhere in the world, Neer is excited at the prospect of competing in a big-arena event close to home.

“I grew up right around that area, so it’s good to have a professional fight [here],” he said.

After losing to Nick Diaz and Josh Burkman at UFC events in the summer of 2006, Neer has won his last three fights in a combined 3 minutes, 15 seconds. On Saturday, Neer faces Tyson Burris (5-3), a fighter with a record that indicates he is at a level similar to Neer’s recent opponents. Neer says he’s been forced to take fights with competition below his level as of late.

“I think lately it’s just been guys aren’t willing to step up. The up-and-comer’s aren’t willing to step because of my name,” Neer said.

Fellow Des Moines-native Victor “Superman” Moreno (15-9) also got his start with the open fight night’s at Toad Holler. Unlike Neer, however, Moreno is hoping to break a three-fight losing streak. A natural middleweight at 185 pounds, Moreno normally competes at welterweight. He’s fighting Shane “Kryptonite” Wessels (8-9-1) at middleweight Saturday in hopes of reversing his fortune.

“The last couple times at welterweight, it’s been kind of hard to get down [to that weight] and I feel like I need to give my body a break,” said Moreno, who recently competed in the International Fight League, one of UFC’s top American competitors.

Perhaps just a few big wins away from Neer’s level, Moreno represents a small crop of Des Moines-based fighters on the verge of breaking out.

“[MMA] keeps me in shape and pays the bills,” he said. “I love the feeling that I’m better than the guy across from me.”