An Interview with Randy Costa
Written by Jack Zampillo (@Jack_Zampillo15) — May 20th, 2020
Randy Costa had no intention of being in the UFC. He didn’t have the intention of being a professional athlete.
Everybody has a story; a unique tale of who they are, where they have been, and the difficulties they have endured along the way. One thing I will tell you after hearing Randy Costa’s story: He is a warrior not only inside the cage, but outside as well. Fighting out of Taunton, Massachusetts, the Lauzon MMA product is riding the momentum of a first-round knockout of Boston Salmon, displaying the style and mindset it takes to succeed in the UFC.
I started my own segment of the Scraptitude podcast called “Z’s Corner” this past weekend, and I had the honor of interviewing Costa as my first guest on the show. He shared an inspirational story that blew me away. The heart and toughness he has shown throughout his young career leads me to believe that he has a very bright future ahead of him. If you would like to listen to the full interview, search “Scraptitude” wherever you get your podcasts. Here are some snippets of my chat with Randy “The Zohan” Costa.
I want to take you back to last October. TD Garden. Boston, Massachusetts — Your hometown. You went out there and made a statement with a first-round knockout win over Boston Salmon. How did it feel to not only do that in front of your hometown crowd, but to do it in that way?
“It’s still not real to me. So much went into that and there were a lot of things stacked against me. […] It was a picture-perfect night and it was just cool to see and have it all unfold in the arena I went to with my dad watching the Celtics play… It was insane.”
All 5 of your professional wins have come by knockout. What has been the key to finding that finishing shot?
“I know what I like watching and I know what other people like watching (knockouts), so if I’m in the role to give people what they want to see, that’s what I am going to do. […] You’re not going to see me go out there sniffing crotches. I’m going to go out there and throw f****** bombs. […] You know that if Randy Costa’s fighting, it’s gonna be pretty fun to watch.”
You’re relatively new to the UFC. Would you mind telling the Scraptitude faithful a little bit about yourself?
“I started wrestling in high school, and my senior year of high school, the team started smoking weed and I just wasn’t interested in that. […] So I found Lauzon MMA when I was 17-years-old. I was training and took my first amatuer fight on 2 weeks notice. […] I had a three year layoff between my first amatuer fight and my first pro fight. In that layoff, one of my best friends Devin Carrier was still fighting and kept pressuring me to take another fight. […] I never had any intention of getting into another fight. I never had any intention of making it to the UFC. When he passed away, I owed it to myself, him, and I owed it to being a man of my word. […] This whole thing is a complete accident, and I’m f****** loving it.”
The 135 pound division is one of the deepest in the UFC and there is a lot of talent alongside yourself moving up the rankings. What is going to separate you from the rest of the pack?
“You can’t attach a discipline to my fighting style. It’s complete madness. […] I want to be known as a guy who is a good dude, who is always exciting to watch fight.”
What have you learned from being around Joe Lauzon and his team that has helped to propel your career into the UFC?
“Character[…] Training with him (Louzon) is incredible. I have been training with him for about 10 years now and I’m still constantly learning from him, not even on the mats or in the gym, just about being a good dude. […] The most important thing I have learned from Lauzon MMA has nothing to do with physical attributes. It has everything to do with character and discipline.”
How has the coronavirus affected not only Lauzon MMA but you personally?
“Oh my god, immensely! I was supposed to fight on March 28th, but that got cancelled due to coronavirus. […] I’m in Florida right now and things have eased up here, so I’m hoping to be back training this week and fighting soon.”
“What do you think of the adaptations the UFC has made, and would you feel comfortable fighting under these conditions?”
“If you asked me this about a month ago… Absolutely f****** not. Everything kept getting worse. […] Then, after seeing what the UFC’s protocols are, I would consider fighting right now. […] I am very eager to see what it would be like to fight in front of no crowd.”
This is only a glimpse of the great conversation Randy and I had. We talked about everything from where he began, how he got to the UFC, his thoughts on UFC Jacksonville, and much more. The Scraptitude family is more than appreciative of Randy taking the time out of his day to share his story. I highly recommend listening to the full interview, and I can’t wait to see Randy Costa back in the octagon.
Love always.
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