Randy Costa Finds His Spark in BKFC and Sets His Sights on Sturgis Fight Night

For Randy Costa, the routine of MMA has lost its appeal. Despite a respectable UFC tenure and a promising career path, the 30-year-old fighter admits he’s no longer interested in standard matchups against “another prospect guy or a f*cking savage guy.” Instead, Costa is chasing something more elusive — excitement, and he believes he’s finally found it in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).

A self-proclaimed thrill-seeker and spontaneous traveler who often ends up in random airports on a whim, Costa recently returned to his roots in New England for a combat sports opportunity that genuinely excited him. That opportunity was his BKFC debut on June 14, where he faced Nick Burgos at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and scored a first-round stoppage in what he described as an incredibly liberating and enjoyable experience.

“It was super fun,” Costa said of the fight. “I wanted to do a boxing match since I started training. Boxing was the first real martial art that I was training. So this felt good. It’s weird. There was no pressure. I never thought I felt pressure in any fight ever, but there was always some weird pressure with MMA. With boxing, there was nothing. It was so fun. It was so f*cking fun.”

Costa’s career has been anything but traditional. Signed to the UFC at just 24 years old after only four professional bouts, he went 2-4 in six appearances from 2019 to 2022. Since parting ways with the promotion, the Massachusetts native has struggled to find meaningful fights — or at least ones that could ignite his adventurous spirit. BKFC, however, seems to be a perfect match.

Not only does bare-knuckle boxing satisfy Costa’s desire for raw violence and unpredictability, but he also sees himself as a valuable asset to the promotion’s marketing efforts. Costa believes BKFC is filled with top-tier talent but lacks the characters and personalities to elevate the sport’s reach.

“I think I have what they are looking for, what their blueprint is,” Costa explained. “They have a bunch of killers – a bunch of f*cking killers in BKFC, especially around my weight class. But the thing they’re lacking is marketing… So I think I could bring something that’s a little more colorful, a little bit more playful and an exciting style.”

His fight against Burgos was a one-fight deal, but based on his performance, Costa expects a callback from BKFC. If it’s up to him, he already knows where he wants to make his next appearance — the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on August 2 in Sturgis, South Dakota. The annual event, known as the largest motorcycle rally in the world, draws crowds of over half a million and serves as a unique, raucous backdrop for a bare-knuckle fight night.

While Costa isn’t a biker himself, he’s confident his wild energy and promotional flair will resonate with the crowd.

“I feel like I have a little bit of a position to be asking for a spot on that because of what I bring to the table, in terms of my style, my excitement, the way I promote, the way I market,” Costa said. “I feel like that’s what those kind of shows, that market, they would love that. They’d chew it all up with the style I have. The savage biker market will be like, ‘Who is this crazy bastard? This guy is f*cking cooked.’”

Randy Costa may not fit into the standard mold of an MMA prospect anymore, but in BKFC, he’s found a platform that welcomes — and amplifies — his unfiltered chaos. With a win already under his belt, all that’s left is the call to Sturgis — and if he gets it, the “crazy bastard” might just steal the show.