BJ Penn wants to bring something back from England for the people of Hawai'i.

It's not your typical omiyage.

Penn, who is from Hilo, will face Joe Stevenson for the UFC lightweight (155 pounds) world championship tomorrow at Newcastle, England.

"I want to bring that belt home," Penn said. "The fans have been supporting me through all the ups and downs. Winning the title would be like my way of thanking everybody."

It will be the main event of the UFC 80: Rapid Fire card, which will be televised internationally on pay-per-view.

"I'm pumped for this," Penn said. "I don't care where it is, once I heard it was for the belt, I said I'm there."

Penn, who has a professional record of 12-4-1, is seeking to become the second fighter in UFC history to win a world title in two different divisions. He won the welterweight (170 pounds) championship in 2004.

Stevenson is 33-7. He is originally from Torrance, Calif., but now trains in Las Vegas.

The title bout is scheduled for five five-minute rounds.

Tomorrow will be Penn's fifth world championship bout in the prestigious UFC organization. Stevenson will be fighting in his first world title bout.

Still, Penn is wary of Stevenson's strength and cage experience.

"He's well-rounded — he's tough on the ground, he's got good takedowns, he can stand up and strike," Penn said. "I have to be ready for anything."

As part of his preparation, Penn invited several international competitors and coaches to train with him in Hilo over the past two months. Brazilian fighter Hermes Franca, who is also a world title contender in the lightweight division, was one of Penn's training partners.

"We brought in wrestlers, boxers, jiu-jitsu black belts," Penn said. "This is for a title, so I wanted to pull out all the stops."

Penn, 29, started his mixed martial arts career as a lightweight, then moved up to welterweight in 2004. He returned to lightweight last June with an impressive choke-submission victory over Jens Pulver.

"There's definitely a new BJ with discipline and motivation," Penn said. "I've been eating the right foods, training five to six hours a day. I'm as ready as I can be."

Stevenson rose to prominence by winning The Ultimate Fighter 2 reality television show. He has since gone 4-1 in UFC bouts.

Stevenson was only 16 when he lost a bout to Pulver via knockout in 1999.

"I don't like to watch his past fights too much," Penn said. "Every fight is different, and I rather concentrate on what I have to do."

The fight with Stevenson was designated a world title bout last month when Sean Sherk was stripped of the championship for testing positive for steroids.

"I never respected Sherk's title when I found out he was on steroids," Penn said. "So I always looked at this fight as for the title."

The winner of the Penn-Stevenson bout will likely have to face Sherk later this year.

"That's fine. I would want that," Penn said. "But I can't worry about that now. Joe is a formidable opponent, so I'm only focusing on him right now."

Penn departed Hawai'i on Sunday morning around 8 a.m. He arrived in Newcastle around 2 p.m. Monday.

"Joe has to fly a long way, too," Penn said. "Not as long as me, but I'm not worried about that. We'll be there for a week, so there's time to rest. I'll be ready."

NOTES

Maui's Kendall Grove will face Jorge Rivera of Massachusetts in a middleweight (185 pounds) bout on the undercard of tomorrow's event. Grove is 10-4; Rivera is 14-6.

Tomorrow's card is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. (Hawai'i time). It is available in Hawai'i through Oceanic pay-per-view for $39.99 ($49.99 on HD).

Eastside Grill (1035 University Ave.) will open at 9:30 a.m. to show the card. Admission is $10. A second showing will start at 3 p.m.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.