Fierce Fighting Championships brings biggest Utah fight in years to Black Rock Mountain Event Center

Main event Mafileo VS Hatch Photo: Fierce Fighting Championship

HEBER CITY, Utah — Black Rock Mountain Resort will host its first non-hockey sporting event at the new Black Rock Mountain Event Center on Saturday, Sept. 12, when Fierce Fighting Championships brings a 14-fight card headlined by Utah fighters Kent Mafileo of Salt Lake City and Jarome Hatch of Lehi in what organizers are calling one of the biggest main events in Utah in years.

The 15,000-square-foot Event Center, the resort’s newest addition, holds up to 3,500 guests and already serves as home ice for the Utah Outliers junior hockey team. Saturday’s card will be the venue’s debut as a combat sports host.

Zack Partridge, chief operating officer and matchmaker for Fierce FC, said the promotion has been building toward this kind of night for a long time. Fierce FC started as a small local show in Price, Utah, in March 2016, founded by Cody Bunderson.

Partridge took over in 2022. Since then, Fierce FC has grown from five shows a year to 13, with events across Utah and into Idaho, including stops at the Maverick Center, the historic Masonic Temple in Salt Lake City, Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls, and the Western Sports Park in Farmington.

“This is literally one of the biggest fights Utah’s had in probably five to 10 years,” Partridge said of Saturday’s main event.

The headline bout pits Mafileo, Utah’s top heavyweight and one of the country’s top unsigned heavyweights, against Hatch, a veteran fighter moving up in weight class for the matchup. The two have circled each other for roughly two years, Partridge said, after a planned showdown fell through twice, first at a Maverick Center card in 2025 and again earlier this year.

“They have a healthy respect for each other, but they’ve been on a collision course for a couple of years now, finding out who the hardest hitter in Utah is,” Partridge said.

Beyond the main event, the card features pro kickboxing and amateur title fights in Kickboxing, Muay Thai and two amateur MMA titles as well, giving fans a broad look at combat sports talent from around the state and beyond. Fierce FC has drawn fighters from as far away as Mongolia, Canada, Mexico and South America, though Partridge said nearly every card includes at least one hometown Utah fighter.

Partridge said he hopes Saturday’s event marks the start of a regular partnership with Black Rock Mountain Resort, with Fierce FC returning two to three times a year.

“We’re very honored and happy to be the first event that’s going to take place that’s not hockey at Black Rock Event Center,” Partridge said. “We’re coming to not only highlight our show but highlight that beautiful venue as well.”

Doors open at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, with fights beginning at 5 p.m. The main event is expected to begin around 9 p.m. Tickets and additional details are available through the resort’s website.