GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Hilo's B.J. Penn will try to defeat a second member of the Gracie family when he meets Renzo Gracie of Brazil in the main event of tonight's card.

Prodigy on parade

Hilo fighter B.J. Penn hopes
to draw a record crowd to
Aloha Stadium tonight

B.J. Penn never envisioned himself as a professional fighter, but four years after making his pro debut, "The Prodigy" now finds himself headlining what could be the biggest martial arts event ever held in the United States.

The Hilo native will take on Renzo Gracie in one of three super fights on tonight's K-1 World Grand Prix card at Aloha Stadium, an event that organizers hope will draw more than the U.S. martial arts record of 13,400 fans.

The fight will be the only non-preliminary bout fought under mixed martial arts rules, and is the second for Penn against a Gracie in his career. He defeated Rodrigo Gracie by unanimous decision at Rumble on the Rock 6 last November.

"People are excited about it being the Gracies and stuff, but it's honestly just another fight to me," Penn said.

Since debuting in his first professional fight in May 2001, Penn has become one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. His nine career victories have come against some of the sport's biggest names, including Caol Uno, Takanori Gomi, and Matt Hughes, whom Penn defeated for the Ultimate Fighting Championship World Welterweight title in January 2004.

But after a falling out with the company, Penn is now fighting with K-1, but hasn't ruled out returning to the UFC one day.

"Nothing is impossible," Penn said of the likelihood of returning to the UFC. "We don't even talk at all right now, but that doesn't mean I'll never fight there again."

A lightweight to begin his career, Penn earned the victory over Hughes after he moved up to 170 pounds. In an effort to fight heavier fighters, Penn defeated Rodrigo Gracie and Duane Ludwig before suffering the second loss of his career to 215-pound Ryoto Machida in his last fight.

Tonight's fight will be at 185 pounds.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM B.J. Penn and Renzo Gracie embraced at a press conference yesterday.

That belief isn't lost on Renzo Gracie, who himself burst onto the scene by defeating three heavyweights in one night at a World Combat Championship event in just his second professional appearance 10 years ago.

"It's funny, I look at (Penn) and I see myself at a younger age," Gracie said. "To see a guy who recently was fighting in a 155-pound division and now he's aiming to fight heavyweights, it just shows the appetite he has inside of him to fight."

This is the first fight for Renzo in 20 months, losing a split decision to Carlos Newton at a Pride event in 2003. Despite the layoff and a 13-year age difference in the fighters, Gracie still believes he has what it takes to come out victorious.

"They say you fear the devil not just because he's the devil, but because he's old," Gracie said. "I'm a much more seasoned and experienced fighter and anything he brings at me I think I can take and give back."

Although Gracie will be fighting one of Hawaii's own, he will have enough support in his corner to counter the crowd. Family members Rickson, Ralph and Ryan Gracie will be in Renzo's corner. Rickson is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA history.

Meanwhile, Waimanalo's Akebono, or Chad Rowan, will get his first opportunity to fight a K-1 style fight in Hawaii as he takes on 7-foot-2 Hong-Man Choi from Korea. The last of the super fights will feature Musashi (38-20) against Sweden's Rickard Nordstrand (16-5).

The card will also feature an eight-man K-1 heavyweight tournament in which the winner earns one of 16 slots for the 2005 K-1 World Grand Prix final. Local fighters Wesley "Cabbage" Correira and Scott Junk will compete in the tournament that will also feature Gary Goodridge, Hiromi Amada, Butterbean, Marcus Royster, Yusukue Fujimoto, and 2003 Las Vegas Grand Prix champion Carter Williams.