On the eve of his MMA debut, Chad Owens still has no reservations.

"I’ve put in the work. It’s game time tomorrow," Owens said at the weigh-ins on Friday. "I’m ready to roll."

The reigning Canadian Football League most outstanding player will fight Junyah Tefaga in a feature bout at DestinyMMA’s Na Koa III event tonight beginning at 6 at Blaisdell Arena.

With a camera crew from Canada following his every move, Owens weighed in at 170 on the dot for his welterweight fight against Tefaga, who is also making his pro debut.

The former University of Hawaii receiver has become a household name in Toronto, setting a professional football record with 3,863 all-purpose yards in leading the Argonauts to a Grey Cup championship last season.

He raised eyebrows last month when his decision to participate in an MMA fight became public knowledge.

"It’s obviously a shocker to a lot of people, but it’s a sport that’s growing and it’s a sport here in Hawaii that kids look to as a way out for them," Owens said. "It’s something I’ve been wanting to do and this is the right time to do it. Some might think it’s the wrong time to do it, but in my eyes, it’s the perfect time."

Owens will fight nine weeks before Toronto’s first preseason game in mid June.

No matter what happens tonight, the focus will return to his regular job the moment the final bell rings.

"(The fans in Toronto) are obviously worried and concerned, but they expect me to come out healthy," Owens said. "I expect to come out healthy and when this fight is over tomorrow night, I’ll be 100 percent in football mode and I’ll be better prepared because of this."

Owens cut 10 pounds in the past week, including four on Thursday alone to make the weight limit.

Tefaga, who hails from Maui, weighed in at 168.9 pounds. He said he’s cut 70 pounds since the second week of January and was preparing for another fight when the opportunity arose to fight Owens.

"I’m doing this sport to challenge myself and I get to do it against a professional athlete," Tefaga said. "I started the second week of January to cut the weight and I put in a lot of work and win or lose, I feel like I’ve already won."

Tefaga said he grew up watching Owens play football at UH. When the opportunity for a potential fight came up, he took it as quickly as he could.

"He’s not that tall of a football player and I’m not that tall of a person," Tefaga said. "That’s why I look up to him. He has a lot of heart and I’m a lot more excited to fight somebody I look up to."

Owens’ fight is expected to be the second-to-last bout of a 20-fight card, topped off by a middleweight title fight between champion Sale Sproat of Molokai and challenger Jared Torgeson of Washington.

Sproat recently tried out for the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter reality show, but lost his fight to get into the house.