Days before one of the most-anticipated bouts in the sport of mixed martial arts, Hilo's BJ Penn had his own form of training yesterday.

"I went surfing," he said. "The waves were pretty good, and I wanted to get in the water just to relax."

Today, Penn will ride a wave of adrenaline when he departs Hilo for Anaheim, Calif. Penn will face Matt Hughes of Illinois for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight world championship on Saturday.

"I can't wait; every time I punch the heavy bag, I'm thinking about punching his face," Penn said. "All my training is done, my weight is good. I'm ready."

Penn and Hughes are considered two of the best "pound-for-pound" fighters in the world, and the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim is expected to be near its 17,500-seat capacity.

The card will be televised live nationally on a pay-per-view basis.

"The sport is so big now, bigger than the first time I beat (Hughes)," Penn said. "So it's definitely a big fight in a lot of ways."

The UFC is considered the top mixed martial arts organization in North America, and Penn is the only Hawai'i competitor to fight for a UFC championship.

"For people who follow this sport, this is huge," said Michael Onzuka, a judge and commentator for mixed martial arts events in Hawai'i. "This might be the biggest fight at 170 pounds, ever. In any organization."

Saturday's bout is a rematch in the 170-pound weight class. On Jan. 31, 2004, Penn beat Hughes by rear-naked choke submission to win the UFC welterweight championship.

"I can't take anything from that fight," Penn said. "Every fight is totally different, so I can't depend on the same things happening. You can't worry too much about what your opponent is going to do. You have to be more ready to do what you want to do."

Penn was stripped of the UFC championship later in 2004 because he accepted a fight with another organization.

Hughes then regained the vacant title on Oct. 22, 2004, with a victory over Georges St. Pierre. Hughes has held the title ever since.

St. Pierre is actually the No. 1 contender, and was originally scheduled to face Hughes on Saturday. However, St. Pierre suffered a groin injury during training and had to withdraw.

Penn, the No. 2 contender, was picked as the replacement to face Hughes a month ago.

"I don't want to be No. 3 anymore," said Penn, 27. "This is my chance to be No. 1 again."

Hughes is 38-4 and trains at the Miletich Martial Arts school in Iowa. Among the well-known competitors who train with Hughes are Tim Sylvia, Pat Miletich, Jeremy Horn and Robbie Lawler.

Since March of 2001, Hughes is 18-1, with the only loss coming against Penn.

Hughes has a wrestling background; Penn is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

"Matt likes to take guys to the ground (and grapple)," Penn said. "I've prepared for everything. I'm ready to stand up, I'm ready to go to the ground. What ever it takes."

Television ads promoting Saturday's card describe the last Hughes-Penn result as an upset. Internet gambling sites are listing Penn as a slight underdog.

"That doesn't matter to me," Penn said. "If they think that was an upset the last time, what are they gonna say when I beat him again?"

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.