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Last spring, Schechter began mulling over the idea of a He also wanted to lose weight and boost his fitness, thereby showing his own children 鈥� son Noah, 13, and daughter Chase, 10 鈥� both the importance of a healthy lifestyle and of helping others.

Schechter, at the time a new fan of mixed martial arts fights on TV, decided he would climb into the cage for a MMA match to benefit Doernbecher. He launched 鈥淓van Fights for Kids鈥� to begin raising money, started a diet and joined a gym.

Now a year later, Schechter is 30 pounds lighter and increasingly a mixed martial arts force to be reckoned with. Four days a week he focuses on his boxing skills with a heavy bag and a speed bag to increase his hand-eye coordination and punching technique. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he trains in jujitsu and mixed martial arts, practicing his sparring, grappling and takedowns. In between, he runs and does weight training. Schechter said he plans to incorporate core exercises and yoga as well.

He is focused on losing another 40 pounds before the match, tentatively set for Jan. 21 at the Salem Fairgrounds. Schechter has a posse of MMA professionals and trainers who have donated their time and expertise to help, including Chael Sonnen, Yushin Okami, Tommy Liesman, Scott McQuary of Tualatin鈥檚 Team Quest and Dave Hagen of DaJoGen Martial Arts in Salem. Ken Elmer of The Brickhouse Project runs Schechter鈥檚 fundraising website for free.

Sonnen, a middleweight Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor and former NCAA Division 1 All-American wrestler for the University of Oregon, said he admires Schechter鈥檚 commitment and willingness to take risks.

鈥淲ho would expect a guy who has been sitting at a desk with his nose in a book to decide that he wants to compete in a MMA match to raise money for kids?鈥� Sonnen said.

鈥淗e started taking these little bites out of this monumental task and look where we are five months later. He can box, he can kick, he can grapple and he鈥檚 lost a amount of weight. He鈥檚 done everything he said he was going to do.鈥�

It hasn鈥檛 all been a cakewalk, though. Last June, Schechter was laid off by the Salem firm and now works as an account manager for a Wilsonville company while he builds his solo practice. Sonnen noted Schechter鈥檚 discipline in shuttling between Salem and Tualatin for training, and for sticking it out on days when it would be easy to quit.

鈥淚鈥檓 around some of the top athletes in the world and they鈥檙e no different. It鈥檚 still a grind and a mental challenge where some days you don鈥檛 want to practice but you go do it anyway. Evan appears to be one of those guys 鈥� he鈥檚 just in there every single day,鈥� Sonnen said. 鈥淓van today is better than Evan from five months ago, and the journey has been really fun to watch.鈥�

For his part, Schechter said he has appreciated the chance to get to know people he otherwise wouldn鈥檛 have met. He especially relishes the teamwork and camaraderie that are part of his training regimen.

鈥淲e hang out together and watch each other fight. It鈥檚 a team mentality even though it鈥檚 an individual sport,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e really enjoyed getting to know them, and I don鈥檛 think I would have made it through the last year without these guys.鈥�

Schechter expects to find out who his opponent is a few weeks before the match. He added that, for a couple of reasons, he actually hopes to postpone the match until February or March.

鈥淚 want to get as many donations as possible, but I also really want to win this,鈥� Schechter said. 鈥淲hen I first started training I just wanted to survive, but now I really want to win.鈥�