Roaring fans and modern-day gladiators could be coming to Colwood in force next year.

West Shore Parks and Recreation has confirmed an exclusive deal with Armageddon Fighting Championship (AFC) for up to three seasons, each with up to three cage-fight events at Bear Mountain Arena.

The mixed martial arts promoter hosted its first fight card in August to test the waters for apprehensive WSPR staff. By all accounts the event went off smoothly, said administrator Linda Barnes.

“We made Armageddon jump through every hoop. They went above and beyond to be as safe as possible,” Barnes said. “The patrons were happy with the event. In terms of MMA, it could be seen as successful.”

Darren Owen, president of AFC, said that first event took more than two years of work to satisfy concerns of WSPR around safety, liability and the public image surrounding MMA.

“The problem is when (MMA) first came out it wasn’t a sport, it was a spectacle. It used to be in the gutter,” Owen said. “Now there are rules, regulations, sanctioning and weight classes. Some people are still a bit uneducated to the changes that have taken place.”

AFC had the August event sanctioned by the U.S.-based International Sports Combat Federation and flew in an official to Victoria to certify judges, timekeepers and referees. The event’s top referee was flown in from Las Vegas, Owen said.

“It took a lot of work to find a venue willing to take a risk. (WSPR’s) big concern was gangsters, drug dealers and Hells Angels coming out, but that didn’t happen,” he said. “The RCMP was surprised how well it was run. The biggest problem was people driving out the wrong exit.”

Having certainty with a venue allows AFC to book elite fighters with experience in the televised Ultimate Fighting Championship events, Owen said. He expects the next event in Bear Mountain Arena in the spring of 2010.

“It should be a lot easier now. The ground work is done,” he said. “We can make the show better and bring in better fighters.”

The WSPR board of directors gave AFC cage fighting events the thumbs-up, but Barnes said the jury is still out on MMA.

“There is still a lot of controversy hosting MMA events, the laws are still unclear,” Barnes said. “We work off the best advice we have, but it’s still a grey area.”

View Royal, a member of the WSPR owner group, opposes holding “extreme fighting” events at the publicly-funded arena.

“The Town of View Royal opposes this and as a director I don’t like it,” said Andrew Britton, a WSPR director and View Royal councillor. “I hate it, it’s violent.”

Metchosin Coun. Jo Mitchell, a WSPR director, agrees. “I don’t think it’s suitable. I don’t think it should be going on at Juan de Fuca,” she said.