And now for the main event.

The biggest month for mixed martial arts in Hawai'i will be highlighted on Friday with the biggest event — the K-1 World Grand Prix in Hawai'i.

The event is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium, and K-1 officials are hoping to set a North American attendance record for mixed martial arts by attracting more than 15,000 fans.

"The hype and production for this is almost more like a concert than a sporting event," Aloha Stadium spokesman Patrick Leonard said.

Some of the most-recognized names in the sport are scheduled to fight.

Hilo's BJ Penn — considered one of the best pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighters in the world — will take on Brazilian jiu-jitsu master Renzo Gracie in one of the main events.

"I think this event is very important for Hawai'i because it's going around the world," Penn said. "This sport has taken such a fast and strong hold on this state, and this is a chance to show the world that Hawai'i is a good place to have big events like this."

K-1 is one of Japan's top fighting organizations, and K-1 promoter Mak Takano said the cost to hold an event at Aloha Stadium will be "in the millions."

"When you talk about the fight fees, the promotions, flying in all the people involved — it's easily a couple (million)," Takano said.

The event will be televised in Japan over the weekend, and will be made available on a delayed, pay-per-view basis in more than 50 other countries, including the United States.

Around 150 media outlets from around the world are in Hawai'i this week to cover the fights, including around 100 from Japan.

"For this sport, this is a huge event," Takano said. "Of course, it will be nice to show Hawai'i on TV, but there are other reasons why we wanted to come here, and one reason is because of the fans."

Takano said K-1 officials were contemplating between Hawai'i and New Zealand, but chose Honolulu after attending the Rumble on the Rock event last year.

Penn defeated Rodrigo Gracie before a standing-room-only crowd on that card at the Blaisdell Center Arena in November.

"We saw how great the fans were, especially with BJ fighting, and so we decided to bring it here," Takano said.

Two other mixed martial arts events have already been held this month at the Blaisdell.

"That just shows how much the people of Hawai'i support this sport," Penn said.

The Hilo-based Rumble World Entertainment, which runs the Rumble on the Rock events, is assisting K-1 this week.

It will be the first mixed martial arts event held in an outdoor stadium in the United States, and Aloha Stadium will be shifted into a special configuration.

The ring will be set up near the south end zone, and only half of the stadium will be open for seating. Around 3,000 seats will be made available on the field, and the rest of the seats will be in the orange and blue sections of the stadium.

What's more, two 15-by-20 foot television screens will be posted on 40-foot high towers at one end of the stadium. The stadium Jumbotron will also be used.

"No matter where your seat is, you'll have a good view," Leonard said. "And the giant screens should make it even better."

In addition to the Penn-Gracie fight, former sumo grand champion Akebono will take on Korea's Hong-Man Choi in another main event. Akebono is listed at 6 feet 8 and 484 pounds; Choi is 7-2 and 353 pounds.

There will also be an eight-man heavyweight tournament. Some of the fighters in the tournament include Wesley "Cabbage" Correira of Hilo, Scott Junk of Kailua, Eric "Butterbean" Esch and Carter Williams.

The Penn-Gracie bout and some of the preliminary bouts will follow mixed martial arts rules. The eight-man tournament and the Akebono-Choi bout will follow K-1 rules.

K-1 rules combine karate, kung fu, tae kwon do and kickboxing. All fighters must wear standard boxing gloves, and all the fighting is stand up. Mixed martial arts rules allow grappling on the ground, as well as stand-up punching and kicking.