SURREY - The City of Surrey is looking into what may have been an illegal combat sporting event that took place on Nov. 18 at Bombay Banquet Hall in Surrey.

The city says it found out at the last minute, despite being alerted a week in advance.

In an email dated Nov. 11, Paul Lazenby told city staff of the planned event, called Bisla Fight Night, promoted by Inderjit Bisla of Bisla Martial Arts in Surrey.

The hall, located at 7475 135th St., is not currently zoned to allow for such events.

Lazenby is a director of the Mixed Martial Arts Association of British Columbia, which is an amateur oversight body for the sport.

Lazenby met with city employees earlier this year to inquire about the possibility of holding a combat sporting event at the same location.

He was subsequently informed that the building was not zoned for such an event.

"I wanted to make sure I was doing things by the book," he said.

Lazenby emailed staff after he was invited to Bisla Fight Night via Facebook on Nov. 11, held at the banquet hall in question, to see if the zoning had changed. It hadn't.

The city confirmed the event did not have the necessary approvals. The event went ahead as planned, with bylaw officers in attendance.

Lazenby said the city's actions bother him for two reasons.

"Number one is obviously because I'm personally offended. There's a double standard at play here and I don't know why, but the city chose to tell me that I couldn't run a fight show there and chose to turn the other way when Inder Bisla wants to run a fight in the same building," he said.

"But in a broader scope, it's the city willfully turning its back on laws being broken that they obviously knew about."

Lazenby said the city could have contacted Bisla prior to the fight to inform him he could not hold the event.

Craig MacFarlane, solicitor for the City of Surrey, said bylaw officers attended the event to validate its occurrence and an investigation is on-going.

MacFarlane confirmed combat sporting events were not permitted on the property, adding that if the show was professional or amateur, the same rules would apply.

"I guess they found out at the last minute," MacFarlane said of the bylaw department being informed of the event.

"Bylaw attended the event to confirm its non-compliance with the zoning. See, you can't do anything until you have the evidence, so they're completing their investigation," he said, adding that there's a possibility those involved could get a ticket.

Bisla said the event wasn't a sporting event, but instead was a club fundraiser, which included "exhibition fights" that showcased talent.

He said there was kickboxing and boxing during the event.

"There's no problem with that hall if you're doing fundraisers there," Bisla said.

A woman who answered the phone at Bombay Banquet Hall said the hall did not wish to comment.

Ed Warzel, Surrey's manager of bylaw and licensing services, said the city doesn't see many cases of combat sporting events taking place on improperly zoned properties, adding that the Bisla Fight Night is one of only two cases in the last year.

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