No championships will be at stake when Hawai'i's Egan Inoue faces Arizona's Hans Marrero Jr. in a mixed martial arts bout tomorrow.

But Inoue said it feels like one of his many previous title bouts.

"I feel like there's just as much pressure on this one as any of my other fights," he said. "There's been so much attention. I didn't expect it to be this big."

Inoue and Marrero will meet in the main event of the X-1 World Events organization's "Legends" card tomorrow at the Blaisdell Center Arena.

Inoue, who has a professional record of 12-8, is fighting for the first time since December 2003.

"I was kind of hoping that this comeback would be a little more quiet," said Inoue, who is 42. "But I'm honored they wanted me for the main event, and I'm stoked that so many people are still backing me."

Marrero is 15-6, and at 23 is 19 years younger than Inoue.

The bout is scheduled for three 3-minute rounds. Most MMA bouts feature 5-minute rounds.

"I wanted this fight to get myself going again," Inoue said. "I didn't want to over-bite more than I could swallow. If this one goes well, I'm sure the next fight will be longer."

COOPER TAKES ON REPLACEMENT FOR TITLE

Ray "Braddah" Cooper of Pearl City will face Richie Whitson of Alaska for the vacant X-1 lightweight (155 pounds) championship on the undercard.

Like Inoue, Cooper is making a comeback. His last bout was in April 2006.

He spent most of the past two years working 12-hour shifts for Hawaiian Dredging, and raising his six children.

"I actually got to heal a lot of my past injuries, too, so it worked out," said Cooper, 34.

Cooper was originally scheduled to face X-1 champion Shane Nelson for the lightweight belt. But Nelson withdrew last week and was stripped of the title.

Whitson was named as a replacement on Monday.

"It's disappointing because I was training all this time for (Nelson)," Cooper said. "It's going to be harder now because I don't know anything about (Whitson). But he's taking it at the last minute, too."

Cooper, who was a crowd favorite in the late 1990s because of his knockout power, is 14-8. Whitson is 3-0, including a victory last Wednesday in Alaska.

WOLFF WANTS REINER'S WELTERWEIGHT TITLE

In another undercard bout, Brandon Wolff of Kailua will face Nebraska's Chad Reiner for the X-1 welterweight (170 pounds) championship.

Reiner, who is 17-4, beat Hawai'i's Mark Moreno for the title in January.

"That's a big part of what motivated me to take this fight," said Wolff, who is 6-2. "I want to bring the belt back to Hawai'i."

FULL CARD

185 pounds: Egan Inoue vs. Hans Marrero. 170: Chad Reiner vs. Brandon Wolff. 155: Ray Cooper vs. Richie Whitson. 170: Kolo Koka vs. Michael Brightmon. 170: Ron Jhun vs. Dylan Clay. 135: Kana Hyatt vs. Albert Manners. 150: Brandon Visher vs. Lorenzo Moreno. 170: John Vistante vs. Sean Sakata.