TOPSHAM — Every fighter in history has embraced the sport for a reason greater than the pittance it might drop into his pocket or the modicum of fame or infamy it affords.

Trevor Hebert’s motivation has always been there. Not from the outset of his career. Since the dawn of life.

Born almost 28 years ago on Sept. 11 before that date was assigned dramatically deeper meaning, Hebert entered the world with an identical twin, Travis.

“We did everything together,” Trevor Hebert said. “We played sports together. We were both all-star athletes in everything.”

Tragedy intervened. In 1999, Travis Hebert was in a near-fatal car accident.

He remained in a coma for six months. Eating, movement, communication and all other activities of everyday life had to be learned from scratch.

One year ago, when the stars aligned much more favorably and persuaded Trevor Hebert to begin a mixed martial arts career, the Mountain Valley High School graduate knew he wasn’t walking into the gym alone.

“I feel like I’m doing it for him, too, because he enjoys it as much as I do,” he said.

Saturday evening, when Trevor pushes back the dressing room doors and begins breaking a sweat in preparation for a bout at Androscoggin Bank Colisee, Travis will be part of the entourage getting him ready.

Out in the arena, family and friends will fill seats by the dozen — many of them probably not knowing what they’re getting themselves into, Hebert acknowledged — to watch the pride of Roxbury climb into the cage.

He’ll battle Mike Brown of Massachusetts, not to be confused with the UFC veteran of the same name from the Standish area. It’s the amateur debut for both men.

“I guess I never would have thought in a million years I’d be in the position I’m in,” said Hebert, a Bath Iron Works welder by trade.

Hebert was on his way home from that job last spring when he saw the sign for MMA Athletix in Bath and decided to take the competitive plunge.

When that gym recently splintered into First Class Fitness and MMA, Hebert also made the move. He trains under a team of instructors that includes cage veterans John Raio and Brent Dillingham and former professional boxer Glenn Cugno.

“I’ve always been an avid UFC fan, Bellator, anything with mixed martial arts,” Hebert said. “I love competition as well as that anxiety rush you get. I’ve always been a wicked adrenaline junkie, that kind of living-for-the-moment type deal.”

An accomplished wrestler in middle and high school, Hebert was ready and willing to test his skills in a fight almost immediately, he said.

His instructors adopted more of a wait-and-see philosophy. Dillingham saw Hebert turn the corner about six months ago, at which time he picked up the pace of their workouts together.

“A lot of people say ‘I want this,’ then they train for two weeks and I never see them again,” Dillingham said. “I always let it work itself out and see if they thrive in that environment. Trevor definitely thrives in that environment.”

Another training partner, Mitch DiCenzo, holds Hebert accountable to get up between 5 and 6 a.m., put in roadwork and eat a proper breakfast.

Then it’s off to work for a traditional eight-hour shift at the shipyard.

“It’s not like I’m sitting down all day,” Hebert said. “That in itself is a workout.”

Training occupies three to four hours, four nights a week. Trevor also serves as payee for his twin brother, coordinating Travis’ life and finances.

“If I’m not doing this, after work I’d just go home and watch TV. Now it’s a lifestyle. My friends have changed. Now I hang out with people who do this,” Hebert said. “Your life gets so simple you don’t even realize it. All the material things take a back seat to your diet, your hygiene, your training. Nothing else really matters anymore. Everybody asks me all the time, ‘How the hell do you manage it all?’ I guess at the time you don’t really think about it.”

Hebert weighed in at a lean 139 pounds on Tuesday. He will fast and cut back on water Thursday and wear a sauna suit Friday morning in order to hit the 130-pound limit that afternoon.

It’s a level of commitment that only a fighter can fully comprehend.

“He has this will to succeed and to overcome,” Dillingham said. “He’s also very athletic. Those things go hand-in-hand. I can’t wait to see him put on a show. He’s really fun to watch.”

“I feel like I’m 19,” Hebert said of the rigorous preparation. “It keeps you young. It’s work on top of work. I look at this as a second occupation. I don’t know if it will ever turn out that way.”

Hebert knows he doesn’t need to look far for local inspiration in that regard.

He can rattle off the list of Maine-based fighters — Former UFC champion Tim Sylvia, Marcus Davis, Henry Martinez, the other Mike Brown — who have enjoyed more than a cup of coffee in the sport.

Davis will fight in Saturday’s main event before embarking on a contract with Bellator that may carry through the end of his career.

“The top is actually not that far away. It’s within arm’s reach,” Hebert said. “People don’t realize how rooted Maine is in MMA.”

Whether Hebert’s foray into the sport is only a few fights or takes him to every corner of the globe, someone will be there to share the journey.

“He had to learn how to do everything all over again. He’s my biggest inspiration,” Trevor said of Travis. “When I look at what he has to do to put his feet on the floor every day, my life’s easy. It really is.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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