Hawai'i fans of mixed martial arts will have more than just BJ Penn to cheer for during today's UFC 101: Declaration event at Philadelphia.

Maui's Kendall Grove and Hilo's Shane Nelson are scheduled to fight on the undercard today.

Penn will defend his UFC lightweight world championship against Kenny Florian of Boston in the main event.

The card is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. (Hawai'i time), and will be televised through pay-per-view.

"It feels like Team Hawai'i," Grove said. "BJ and Shane have been training together the past couple months and I just joined them, so we're here to support each other and represent Hawai'i."

Grove will face Ricardo Almeida of New Jersey in a middleweight (185 pounds) bout.

The winner could become a contender for the UFC middleweight title. The loser could be out of the UFC.

"I have to treat this like my last fight in the UFC — like I'm fighting with my career on the line," said Grove, 26. "But the thing I have to worry about the most is Ricardo Almeida. I can't let all the business stuff get in the way of my focus for this fight."

Prior to his last bout in March, Grove was told by UFC president Dana White that he needed to win to save his place on the UFC roster. Grove came through, defeating Jason Day via first-round TKO.

However, Grove said neither White nor any other UFC official talked to him after that victory.

"I really don't know where I stand," Grove said. "But they gave me this fight, and I'm looking at it as an opportunity to move up."

Grove is 12-5, including 5-2 in UFC bouts. He burst on the MMA scene in 2006 when he won season three of The Ultimate Fighter reality television series.

Almeida is 10-3, and is regarded as an expert in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

"People call him one-dimensional, but he's great in that one dimension," Grove said. "I'm definitely going to try and keep it on my feet, work the angles, work my reach."

At 6 feet 6, Grove will have a seven-inch height advantage over Almeida.

Grove took a brief break from his training last month to celebrate the first birthday of his daughter, Khloe.

"I was kind of stressed," he said. "Everybody in Hawai'i makes a big deal out of the first birthday, so that was a lot of work. But once that was over, I came straight (to California) to train and I'm ready."

Nelson will face Aaron Riley of Washington in a lightweight (155 pounds) bout. It is a rematch of a fight won by Nelson in controversial fashion in March.

The referee stopped the contest 44 seconds into the first round after Nelson dropped Riley with a punch. Nelson acknowledges that Riley was still able to fight, and the stoppage was premature.

"I didn't want to win that way, and I wouldn't want to lose that way, either," Nelson said. "The best way to settle it is do it again."

Nelson has a 13-3 record, including 2-0 in the UFC. Riley is 27-11-1.

"I still have to prove myself, prove that I belong in the UFC," he said. "So every fight is big for me."

Nelson is a student of Penn, and participated in Penn's training camp in California the past two months.