Darrick Gates says victory was worth the wait.

After three ill-fated trips to the BKFC Squared Circle, Gates recently earned his long-awaited first victory at BKFC 44 in Great Falls, MT – nearly 30 months since his debut against current BKFC World Featherweight Champion Kai Stewart in the fall of 2021. 

“My head is 20 feet high,” Gates says with a smile. 

“I’m still trying to take it in. It’s pretty crazy.”

Gates has never been deterred by losses. His amateur MMA record includes 30 bouts, but he only had his hand raised in victory eight times during that span.

It would be easy to call Gates a stubborn person, but he doesn’t agree with that classification. 

“I had a really crappy MMA record too – it was just something that I really liked to do,” he says. “I don’t know if it’s really stubbornness; I just really enjoy fighting. No matter how many times I get beat up, I still want to do it.” 

That being said, Gates agrees that winning is a lot better than the alternative – especially on such a big platform.

“This is something I worked really hard for – to secure that win for BKFC – and it feels amazing,” he says.

Gates isn’t done yet. He’s been on the bottom of the bustling BKFC featherweight division, and now he has his sights set on the top.

“Now that there’s a belt in my weight class, I’m going to work my way all the way up from the bottom of the list, and I’m going to get a chance to fight for the belt,” he says.

“My goal is to at least get a shot at the title.”