Schlater_3.jpg

Ben Schlater jokes with Sam Jones as he gets ready to leave the ring for the night on Nov. 28. Schlater got his start at the West Virginia Toughman Contest. His goal was to compete in one amateur fight before he died. After losing his first five, Schlater went back for a sixth go and finished second. “Then I got runner-up and I was like, ‘Shoot, now I’ve got to do it ‘til I win, right?’” (Correction: A previous version of this photo caption misstated Jones’ name.)