Mike Aina of Hilo wants to prove that he can be a challenger for mixed martial arts championships in the Strikeforce organization.

He'll get a shot on Friday when he takes on California's Billy Evangelista in the main event of the inaugural Strikeforce Challenger Series card at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.

The bout will be televised nationally on the Showtime cable network. It will be shown in Hawai'i on a delayed basis at 8 p.m.

"I'm obviously very excited to be back on the main stage and on national TV and on Showtime," Aina said. "There's always a little bit of emotion when you fight in someone else's hometown. It's going to be a little tough. But once the cage closes, it doesn't matter. Once that first punch is thrown, you just let the fight happen."

The goal of the series is to find up-and-coming fighters who could eventually face top-ranked contenders in the Strikeforce organization.

Aina and Evangelista certainly qualify as potential contenders.

Aina is 11-6-1, and trains in Hilo with UFC world champion BJ Penn. Aina caught the attention of Strikeforce officials after he lost a close decision to world title contender Nick Diaz in 2007.

"I'm looking forward to an all-out war with Billy," Aina said. "He's undefeated. I'm expecting nothing less than a war."

Evangelista, who is from Fresno, Calif., is 9-0, including a decision victory over another Hawai'i fighter, Harris Sarmiento, in January.

"This is a great opportunity for me," Evangelista said. "A lot of people want me to win, especially because I'm the local boy. There is a lot of pressure being undefeated. I just try to ignore the pressure."

Aina will be fighting for the first time since August, in part due to family commitments. His wife gave birth to a daughter in 2008.

"Yeah, I did take some time off," Aina said. "We had a baby daughter and I'm juggling a full-time job. Training for a fight, there's a lot expected of you ... my daughter is 1 now, and sleeping through the night, so it's getting a little bit easier."

NOTES

Kaleo Kwan of Waimanalo will face France's Ousmane Thomas Diagne in a lightweight bout on the undercard of Friday's event. That bout is not scheduled to be televised.