Submitted photos – Titus Balliet (top) will be in action when MMA makes a welcome return to the North Coast later this month.

By Ray Hamill — Mixed Martial Arts will return to the North Coast this month in what will be a busy fall for fight fans in the area.

In addition to next month’s Rumble at the River tough man fight night at the Bear River Casino Resort (Oct. 19), a night of MMA action returns to the Blue Lake Casino Hotel next week.

The Hard Fought Championship will take place on Sept. 21 and will be the first MMA fight night in the area in over a year.

“We’re bringing it back,” said fight promoter Brian Wilson of Hard Fought Productions. “There’s been a drought. There hasn’t been any MMA fights here in a while.”

Wilson is expecting around 14 fights on the card, including some kick boxing, with several local fan favorites lined up to compete.

Andrew Guisa, Jacob Hodge and Titus Balliet out of the Lost Boys gym in Arcata will all be in action, along with Alexander Cork and Caleb Harrison out of the Redwoods Mauy Thai in Fortuna.

“All of these guys are trained fighters,” Wilson added.

The event will be held at the Sapphire Palace Event Center and the fight night is the first at Blue Lake in several years after a very successful run at Bear River.

“We’re really proud to be back at Blue Lake and excited for the next step in our journey,” said Wilson, who expects the 650 seat arena to sell out. “We did shows there before and sold out every time. We crushed it there and we’re definitely glad to be back.”

Wilfred Ferris out of Hoopa will also be in action at the event, which will feature a “a heavy local card,” according to the promoter.

Among the most anticipated fights of the night, Balliet will fight for an amateur Welterweight title and the card will feature a good mix of amateur and pro bouts.

Andrew Guisa out of the Lost Boys gym in Arcata will be in action at the upcoming fight night.

Fighters from as far away as Shasta, Oregon and Southern California will make the trip.

“We had a really good response,” Wilson said.

This will be Wilson and Hard Fought Production’s 28th fight night and they never seem to disappoint as the popularity of MMA in the area has grown substantially over the past decade.

“We did our first show at Blue Lake,” he said. “We got our start there. They were always great to work with.”

The promotor also expressed his appreciation for Bear River and the resort’s long partnership with Hard Fought Productions.

“I do appreciate Bear River,” he said. “We did very well there. My fighters did a lot of good things there and we grew a lot as a company. But I’m also excited for this new opportunity.”

For tickets, which are available for $55, or more information on the fight night visit the Blue Lake website.

Jacob Hodge