NAME: B.J. Drew.

HOMETOWN: Crete.

THE LOWDOWN: 24-year-old works 40 hours a week as a pipe welder in Lincoln by day, and trains to become a Ultimate Fighting Champion by night. He lives the kind of double life that is usually only found in comic books, and Drew wants to make a superhero-like impact.

Drew hails from the small town of Greenfield, Mo., and moved to Crete a year and a half ago to pursue a career in mixed martial arts. So far, he’s built a 6-3 record as a amateur competitor in the Tri-State Cage Fighting League and hopes he’ll soon be able to ditch the 9-5 workday so he can concentrate fully on chasing his dream.

“This is the path I’ve chosen,” Drew said. “I get up at 5:15 in the morning, start with my diet stuff, then I go to work an eight-hour day, and then Ialways train somewhere every night and it’s like that six days a week. I’m to the point right now where Ido about whatever I have to do to make it.”

Drew describes himself as a specialist on the ground, and has won most of his fights by submission.

FIGHTER WITH A PURPOSE: “Growing up I was kind of a bad guy,” Drew said. “Not bad, Imean Iwas a good kid but I fought all the time. As I got older I started bouncing at clubs and just kind of stupid stuff.”

Drew said the strength he found in God helped steer him clear of the dangerous path he was headed down. Drew is opening a gym in Crete to help spread his message

“I like to tell people that before everything I am a Christian,” he said. “I use my gym as an outreach program to show people that you don’t have to be a knucklehead to be a legit tough guy. You don’t have to go out and party and start fights, and do all the stupid stuff. We try to show people that you don’t have to be this certain stereotype to be the tough-guy fighter.”

WIFE’S INITIAL REACTION: “She was really nervous before my first fight, and so was I,” Drew said. “But now, it’s to the point where this woman is trying to find fights for me. She loves it. She knows I’m good at it and passionate about it.”

UNDER ALEXANDER’S WING: Drew trains with Houston Alexander, a UFC fighter from Omaha.

“I wouldn’t say that he’s actually one of my coaches or anything, but he’s kind of taken me under his wing,” Drew said. “I train side-by-side with him like he’s my buddy from forever. He’s been talking about maybe coming in the corner with me for my next fight.”

BARBARIAN FIGHTING?: “There’s a lot of people out there that think this is nothing but a brutal blood sport that is done by a bunch of barbarian meatheads,” Drew said. “But these guys are masters at numerous fighting arts. They’ve dedicated hours and years learning these arts and putting them all together to create one complete package. There’s a lot of dedication, training, and mental awareness to what we’re doing.”

IS MMA A SPORT?: “Just try it out, man,” Drew said. “Come try one training session if you think you’re in shape. Come roll around for five minutes, we don’t have to strike, we can just grapple for one five-minute session and we’ll see what you think about it being a sport after that. People don’t understand. I was a college football player, high school football player, basketball player, baseball player, track runner, and I’ve never been in better shape than I am today probably.”

BEST MMA MOMENT: “I had a guy that lived six hours away e-mail me and told me that he wanted to come down and train with us because he liked what we were about and that we did everything through Christ,” Drew said. “My opinion is if I can get one guy in the world to turn away from doing wrong stuff, that’s probably the best thing I’m looking for.”

FUTURE IN MMA: “Hopefully, with all of my training, a little dirt under my fingernails, and a little blood on my elbows — or wherever I’ve got to have it, Iguess — you’ll see me there under the big lights and first and foremost you’ll see me thank God for the opportunity,” Drew said.