'TUF 27' winner Mike Trizano signs with BKFC after UFC split: 'This is right in my wheelhouse'
In November 2022, Mike Trizano was riding high off a big knockout win at UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden. If he hadn’t missed weight, he may have even won a bonus for the way he finished Sueng Woo Choi.
Two months later, Trizano (10-3) was no longer on the UFC roster – an unusual departure as the promotion seldom splits from fighters coming off wins. Trizano went 4-3 with the promotion and was “The Ultimate Fighter 27” lightweight winner.
When his name populated on algorithm-based X account UFC Roster Tracker as a promotional departure, many fans expressed their surprise.
“They weren’t interested in re-signing, so I just thought I’d explore free agency,” Trizano recently told MMA Junkie. “I’m not going to stress about it. It’s not something in my control. The last two fights were bangers. One was a Fight of the Night. I had a couple knockdowns. Then I ended up winning by knockout at MSG. I did what I could do. At the end of the day, they were like, ‘We’re going to move on.’ So it is what it is.”
Nearly a year-and-a-half later, Trizano isn’t ruminating too much on how things played out. His eyes are on the future after landing on his feet in a new promotional home with the gloves coming off.
“I was just being a dad for a little bit and taking some time off trying to figure out what I wanted to do,” Trizano said. “The plan was to end up doing some MMA. I was kind of getting my feelers out, but (BKFC) came around and I took it. I’ve always wanted to do a bareknuckle fight. My whole thing was that, when I first started training, I wanted to be in an old school kyokushin karate bareknuckle tournament. Now they have bareknuckle boxing, so I was like, ‘Oh, this is right in my wheelhouse.’ I’m a really good boxer, and this will just be something fun and something new, so it excites me. I wanted to get into it.”
Trizano, 32, fights May 11 at BKFC 61 vs. Bellator alumnus Derek Campos. The event takes place at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. The potential bloods-and-guts nature of the matchup is exactly what Trizano sought.
“I want challenges,” Trizano said. “I want to fight guys that are tough, because what’s the point? Why skate through it without working through adversity. The whole point is to challenge yourself against tough people and to come out a better version of yourself. That’s what I’ve always been trying to do is fight the best, guys that are going to push me.”
Beyond this fight, Trizano isn’t sure what the future holds. Whether he continues to fight in BKFC, joins PFL, or a UFC reunion, Trizano’s focus is to utilize the lessons he’s learned fighting in the mainstream spotlight since “TUF 27” in 2018.
“I learned to leave it all out there and don’t hold back, because before you know it, it’s all gone,” Trizano said. “It’s all done. If you don’t fight and leave it all out in the cage, you’re never going to know your true potential. That’s me. I’ve just got to go all out. No regrets.”