Another day, another challenge for WEC champ Stann

As a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, Brian Stann (right) led nearly 80 men in Iraq. Courtesy of BrianStann.com Related Links CNN VIDEO: The 'Ultimate' Marine

If you're going to ask Brian Stann about how tough it is to be a mixed martial artist in one of the world's top fighting promotions, World Extreme Cagefighting, you should first consider asking him how difficult times were when he was trudging through the 100-plus-degree heat of embattled Iraq for months -- twice.

Or how demanding it was to oversee and train a group of nearly 80 men while a salvo of grenades, machine guns and bombs went off around him.

Or how heart-wrenching it was to pull five of his fellow marines out of a bombed vehicle, all the while thinking that he just let some of his men die.

And while you're at it, ask how taxing it was to do all of the above at an age when most are resisting maturing into responsible post-fraternity adults.

Stann, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, Iraqi War veteran and Silver Star recipient is now on a new mission, but one, he claims, doesn't veer too far off his previous path. Now the WEC light heavyweight champion, Stann sets out on his first title defense Aug. 3 -- what would seem a pressure-filled battle for most is just another day at work for the young fighter.

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Stann's leadership initially reared its head in high school, when he played quarterback for Scranton Preparatory in Pennsylvania. Having set school records in career passing yards and rushing, Stann had a zealousness that defied every teenage stereotype -- those procrastinating, inherently lazy and "wow-I'm-so-cool" stereotypes.

And he doesn't deny it.

"I was always a little bit more intense and competitive than my peers in high school," he said. "I took football a lot more seriously than my teammates, I took track and wrestling and all the other sports I played a little more seriously than everybody else. So I figured the Naval Academy would probably be a better fit for me, rather than a normal college. I thought that I'd identify with the people there a little bit more, and I was right."

At the U.S. Naval Academy, Stann transitioned well into his role at middle linebacker, helping his team to victories over archrival Army every year except his junior season in 2001. He graduated with an economics degree in 2003 -- just months after the United States' invasion of Iraq -- and longed for more than a spot behind the line of scrimmage. He joined the U.S Marine Corps as an infantry officer and headed for the front line,.

Stann embarked on his first of two trips to Iraq after mere months of service. Roughly six months after U.S. troops battled Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah, which resulted in thousands of foreign and American casualties, Stann led the 2nd Mobile Assault Platoon in "Operation Matador." Their mission: fight off the onslaught of Iraqi soldiers who migrated west to regroup and retrain their troops.

Stann's troop camped out south of the Euphrates River in Al-Qaim, which is about 250 miles northwest of Baghdad next to the Syrian border. His men were the back-up force, the group responsible for re-supplying and reinforcing the guys in the thick of the action.

But, as Stann would soon grown accustomed to, plans changed instantly, and his decisions had to follow equally fast. After a three trips through enemy territory, Stann's troops were ambushed.

"We really had to lean on all the training we had had up until that point because there wasn't much planning for the operation," Stann said. "I'm getting orders and, within five minutes, I'm putting together my own order and I'm briefing it to my men. And 10 minutes later, we're out the door and we're rolling and we're executing it."

Of Stann's 42 men, 42 survived. When he returned back to the States, he was awarded a Silver Star, the third-highest honor given to those in combat. The medal, he says, is simply a testament to his men. But, along with the obvious physical battles he endured, not even the top marine training facility in the country could have prepared him for the mental tenacity required to handle a war first-hand, let alone lead dozens of men.