Nick Thompson has the 50th professional mixed martial arts fight of his career on Friday night when he takes on Tim Kennedy at the Strikeforce Challengers Series event, but even after years of fighting all over the world, Thompson doesn't view MMA as his life's work.

Instead Thompson, a lawyer who took the bar exam two days after he fought Jake Shields on national TV last summer, says he expects to use his legal background -- and his degrees in philosophy and economics -- to enter politics:

"For me the law was the practical application of philosophy which is something I really enjoy. It's one way you can really shape the country. If you look at the founders of our country and the people who signed the Declaration of Independence the majority of them were lawyers. As much as Congress and the Senate, I think the Supreme Court shapes the way the U.S. does policy. So I definitely see myself getting into politics. I really enjoy tax law, which most people hate. Right now I'm doing a lot of contract work for fighters, which is a natural fit for me and I am kind of managing some of the younger fighters so they won't have to pay a lawyer. It's something I really enjoy doing."

Thompson, who trains with Brock Lesnar in Minnesota, says his favorite thing to do in his free time is read classic literature with his wife, so he's not exactly the stereotypical cage fighter. But he is -- much like Kennedy -- a cage fighter who's easy to root for.