A 15-hour flight awaits Noad Lahat on Sunday morning, only hours after he faces Steven Siler on Saturday in a three-round featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 12 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.

Little good will come of the trip, but Lahat, 30, has few options.

He's headed to war, to join his countrymen in the seemingly never-ending struggle to defend Israel.

He was born in Alfei Menashe, Samaria, Israel, and has lived his entire life in the country except for those periods since 2009 when he's lived in San Jose during his mixed martial arts training camps.

His preparations for the bout with Siler, though, have been more difficult than normal. He doesn't want to be in the gym. He doesn't want to be in the U.S. His heart and mind are thousands of miles away, on the other side of the world, where his countrymen are fighting the Palestinians in Gaza.

"It's been really hard," Lahat told Yahoo Sports. "I've been on my phone all the time, checking messages, checking the news, stuff like that. The only time I get some peace and get to isolate myself from all of this is when I'm in the gym training.

"When you're sparring, you have to be focused, because the other guy is coming for you. I've been training with Josh Thomson as he gets ready for his fight. He doesn't care if I'm distracted or not focused. He's coming to take my head off."

View photos Noad Lahat works out with Cain Velasquez during a media day workout at the American Kickboxing Academy. (Getty) More

Athletes in all sports accept some level of risk, and in a sport where the object is to punch or kick the other person in the head, the level of risk rises greatly.

But it's nothing new for Lahat, who shortly after his return to Israel will rejoin the military to take part in the conflict with the Palestinians.

He was born and raised in Israel and so he has gotten used to the havoc and chaos that permeates life in his homeland.

He's used to the sirens that periodically shriek to warn of incoming bombs or imminent attacks, urging civilians to flee for shelter.

He's accustomed to bombs exploding in crowded city streets and seeing friends leave to go to war but never return home.

Lahat speaks bluntly but matter-of-factly. It's a part of a Jew's life to fight and defend the homeland, he said.

"I hear it a lot, especially when I'm here in California, because people don't understand how we have to live," he said. "Life here is very good, you know? It's a good life. What do you worry about? Do you worry about paying your mortgage or making the payment on your car? That's not real life. People here in the States, they don't understand real life. Americans are fortunate. In the rest of the world, real life is totally different.

"You don't have to worry about driving in a certain [area] because that population there is hostile. We live knowing we are never safe. You live your life and go about your business every day, but we know [an attack] could come at any point. Everyone has someone or knows someone they've lost [to war]. Everyone. When something happens to one of our soldiers, the whole country feels it."

His parents are both generals. His older brother has been in the military service, as has his sister. His younger brother is preparing to serve.

He understands that by leaving the U.S. and returning home on Sunday, he's putting himself into grave danger. But he never gave a second's consideration to staying in California and waiting out the conflict before returning home.

Story continues