Luis Palomino

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Palomino began his career with a 3–0 record in the Absolute Fighting Championship promotion, including a victory over his competitor Jeremy May via unanimous decision.

In his final fight prior to joining Bellator Fighting Championships, Palomino fought John Mahlow for the XFC Lightweight Championship, in a bout that was featured on the Inside MMA show. Palomino lost the fight via submission following a rear-naked choke in the fifth round.

Bellator Fighting Championships Palomino then joined Bellator Fighting Championships to take part in their Bellator Season One: Featherweight Tournament. His opening round fight was against Estevan Payan at Bellator 1. Palomino lost the fight via split decision.

Despite his elimination from the featherweight tournament, Palomino stayed with the Bellator promotion and continued in the featherweight division. His opponent at Bellator 6 was Nick Gonzalez. Palomino defeated him via TKO in the second minute of the first round.

Palomino next faced Troy Gerhart at Bellator 12 in a 150lb bout and defeated him via unanimous decision.

After the first season of Bellator ended, Palomino took a few fights outside of the promotion. Palomino lost his first fight to the eventual Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins via submission following a rear naked choke in the second round. Palomino later achieved two victories including wins over Rafael Dias by TKO and Jorge Masvidal via split decision.

In his next Bellator appearance at Bellator 21, Palomino defeated Jose Figueroa via unanimous decision in a lightweight bout.

Palomino then stayed with Bellator into the third season. His first fight of the season was against Yves Edwards at Bellator 24, which he lost via unanimous decision.

Championship Fighting Alliance

Palomino signed with local promotion Championship Fighting Alliance and made his CFA debut on May 6, 2011, in Miami, Florida against Peter Grimes for the inaugural CFA Featherweight championship at CFA's inaugural event: "CFA: The Title". Palomino defeated Grimes by submission due to an armbar at the 4:59 minute mark of the fourth round.

Palomino returned at "CFA 04: Izquierdo vs. Cenoble" on December 17, 2011, in Coral Gables, Florida against journeyman Charles Bennett. Palomino ultimately knocked Bennett out at 3:59 of the first round. Palomino became only the second man to knock Bennett out.

Palomino was scheduled to fight former Maximum Fighting Championship Lightweight Champion Antonio McKee at "CFA 06" on April 13, 2012, in Coral Gables, Florida. McKee was forced off the card due to an injury and was replaced by James Warfield. The fight was originally scheduled for the CFA Lightweight Championship. However, Warfield did not meet the required weight limit of 155 pounds. This caused the fight to be downgraded to a non-title fight. Warfield knocked Palomino down in the first round, but Palomino was able to recover and won by a unanimous decision.

Palomino next faced "2x Hero's" Grand Prix winner and Strikeforce veteran, Gesias Cavalcante at "CFA 07: Never Give Up" on June 30, 2012, in Coral Gables, Florida. Palomino became the first man to ever knock out Cavalcante, doing so in the third round.

At the CFA 09 on January 19, 2013, Palomino faced PRIDE veteran Luiz Firmino for the CFA Lightweight Championship. Palomino lost the fight with a unanimous decision.

At the CFA 11 on May 24, 2013, Palamino fought against Robert Washington and knocked him out in the first round.

Palomino faced The Ultimate Fighter 8 winner Efraín Escudero at CFA 12 on October 12, 2013. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

World Series of Fighting Palomino made his WSOF debut on January 18, 2014, in Hollywood, Florida against Jorge Patino, Palomino won via second-round knockout.

Palomino faced champion Justin Gaethje for the WSOF Lightweight Championship at WSOF 19 on March 28, 2015. He lost the back-and-forth fight via TKO in the third round.

Palomino faced Gaethje in a rematch on September 18, 2015, at WSOF 23. It was again a back-and-forth battle that Palomino lost via TKO in the second round.

Palomino next entered WSOF's one night Lightweight tournament to determine the number one contender for the Lightweight Championship. He faced Rich Patishnock in the quarter-finals and won via knockout in the first round. He then faced Brian Foster in the semifinals and lost via TKO in the second round.

Absolute Championship Berkut Palomino faced Chechen fighter Musa Khamanaev on January 13, 2017, at ACB 51. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.

In the second fight he faced Marcos Vinicius Schmitz on May 20, 2017, at ACB 61. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Palomino faced Yusuf Raisov on August 19, 2017, at ACB 67. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Bare-knuckle boxing After signing a three-fight contract with the BKFC, Palomino made his debut in bare-knuckle boxing against Elvin Brito at BKFC 10 on February 15, 2020. He won the fight via unanimous decision and advanced to the four-man BKFC Super Welterweight Tournament finals. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Palomino was initially scheduled to face Jim Alers at BKFC 11 on March 14, 2020, for the Lightweight Championship, but the event was postponed to take place on June 20, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was subsequently postponed yet again and two weeks before the rescheduled date July 24, 2020, Alers withdrew after his camp member tested positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by Isaac Vallie-Flagg. Palomino claimed the title via first-minute knockout.

The bout with Alers was then rebooked to take place at BKFC 14 on November 13, 2020. Palomino successfully defended his title with a first-minute knockout.

In his second title defense attempt, Palomino faced Tyler Goodjohn at BKFC 18 on June 26, 2021. Palomino won the bout via unanimous decision and retained his title.

He next faced Dat Nguyen at BKFC 22 on November 12, 2021. He successfully defended the title via unanimous decision. This fight earned him another Fight of the Night award.

He successfully defended his title by defeating Martin Brown at BKFC KnuckleMania 2 on February 19, 2022, via unanimous decision.

Following his defeat of Brown, Palomino trie becoming the first two-division champion in the BKFC. He faced off against welterweight champion Elvin Brito at BKFC 26 on June 24, 2022. He won the welterweight championship by unanimous decision. In a January 2024 interview, Palomino said he was stripped of the welterweight belt.

Palomino faced James Lilley and defended his lightweight title on June 23, 2023, at BKFC 45: Hollywood and won by unanimous decision.

In a January 2024 interview, Palomino said he was no longer fighting in the lightweight division and would vacate the belt because "there was no money or big fights in the division."

Palomino defeated Howard Davis by unanimous decision at BKFC 70 on March 27, 2025, at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, FL, to win the inaugural BKFC King of Streets Championship.

Palomino faced Austin Trout in a rematch on December 5, 2025 at BKFC 85 and lost via technical knockout at the end of the third round.

Boxing

Palomino was scheduled to make his pro boxing debut against Gabriel Rosado on November 12, 2024, in Miami.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Xtreme Fighting Championships XFC Featherweight Championship (One time) Championship Fighting Alliance Championship Fighting Alliance Featherweight Championship (One time; First) 2012 Championship Fighting Alliance Most Valuable Fighter Knockout of the Night (Two times) vs. Gesias Cavalcante on June 30, 2012, and vs. Charles Bennett on December 17, 2011 MMA Junkie 2015 #2 Ranked Fight of the Year 2015 March Fight of the Month vs. Justin Gaethje 2015 September Fight of the Month vs. Justin Gaethje Yahoo! Sports 2015 Best Fight of the Half-Year vs. Justin Gaethje

Bare-knuckle boxing Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Police Gazette World Lightweight Championship BKFC Lightweight Championship (One time; First) Six successful title defenses Most consecutive title defenses in BKFC history (6) Most total title defenses in BKFC history (6) BKFC Welterweight Championship (One time) BKFC King of Streets Championship (One time; Current) Most title fight wins in BKFC history (9) First simultaneous multi-division champion in BKFC history (Lightweight, Welterweight) Longest title reign in BKFC history (1288 days) BKFC Fighter of the Year 2022 Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Elvin Brito 2, Dat Nguyen and Howard Davis Tied (Lorenzo Hunt) for the longest win streak in BKFC history (9)

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Promoted to black belt on April 25, 2012, by Daniel Valverde

Mixed martial arts record Win

Darrell Horcher TKO (punches and elbows) Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 10

Miami, Florida, United States Loss

Claudio Quintana Nadal Decision (unanimous) Productora LFN: Live Fight Night

Santiago, Chile Loss

Apti Bimarzaev Decision (unanimous) ACA 93

Saint Petersburg, Russia Loss

Lom-Ali Eskiev Decision (unanimous) ACB 84

Bratislava, Slovakia Loss

Yusuf Raisov Decision (unanimous) ACB 67

Grozny, Russia Win

Marcos Vinicius Schmitz Decision (unanimous) ACB 61

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Musa Khamanaev TKO (punches) ACB 51

Irvine, California, United States Loss

Sheymon Moraes Decision (unanimous) WSOF 31

Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States Loss

Brian Foster TKO (punches)

Win

Rich Patishnock KO (punch)

Loss

Justin Gaethje TKO (punches) WSOF 23

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Loss

Justin Gaethje TKO (leg kicks and punches) WSOF 19

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Lewis Gonzalez KO (knee and punch) WSOF 12

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Jorge Patino KO (punches) WSOF 8

Hollywood, Florida, United States Loss

Efraín Escudero Decision (unanimous) CFA 12

Coral Gables, Florida, United States Win

Robert Washington KO (punch) CFA 11

Coral Gables, Florida, United States Loss

Luiz Firmino Decision (unanimous) CFA 9

Coral Gables, Florida, United States Win

Gesias Cavalcante KO (punches) CFA 7

Coral Gables, Florida, United States Win

James Warfield Decision (unanimous) CFA 6

Coral Gables, Florida, United States Win

Charles Bennett KO (punch) CFA 4

Coral Gables, Florida, United States Win

James Edson Berto Decision (unanimous) W-1 MMA 7

Miami, Florida, United States Loss

Pat Curran Submission (Peruvian necktie) Bellator 46

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Peter Grimes Submission (armbar) CFA 1

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Daron Cruickshank KO (head kick and punches) G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 5

Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States Win

Jarrod Card Decision (unanimous) XFC 13

Tampa, Florida, United States Loss

Yves Edwards Decision (unanimous) Bellator 24

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Jose Figueroa Decision (unanimous) Bellator 21

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Jorge Masvidal Decision (split) G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 3

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Rafael Dias TKO (punches) Unconquered 1

Coral Gables, Florida, United States Loss

Jonathan Brookins Submission (rear-naked choke) G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 2

Coral Gables, Florida, United States Win

Troy Gerhart Decision (unanimous) Bellator 12

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Nick Gonzalez TKO (punches) Bellator 6

Robstown, Texas, United States Loss

Estevan Payan Decision (split) Bellator 1

Hollywood, Florida, United States Loss

John Mahlow Submission (rear-naked choke) XFC 6

Tampa, Florida, United States Win

Marc Stevens Decision (unanimous) United States Fight League: War in the Woods 5

Ledyard, Connecticut, United States Win

Eric Reynolds KO (punch) G-Force Fights: Bad Blood 1

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Andrew Carron TKO (punches) United States Fight League: War in the Woods 4

Ledyard, Connecticut, United States Loss

Mike Bernhard TKO (punches) Premier X-treme Fighting

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Patrick Mikesz KO (punches) Rage in Cage: Cage FC

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States Win

Steve Conley TKO (punches) Panther Fight League: Genesis

Miami, Florida, United States Loss

Travis Cox TKO (punches) World Extreme Fighting

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Jeremy May Decision (unanimous) Absolute FC 19

Boca Raton, Florida, United States Win

Mike Soltz TKO (punches) Absolute FC 18

Boca Raton, Florida, United States Win

Louis Pilato Submission (punches) Absolute FC 17

Boca Raton, Florida, United States Bare knuckle record Loss

Austin Trout TKO (doctor stoppage) BKFC 85

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Howard Davis Decision (unanimous) BKFC 70

Hollywood, Florida, United States Loss

Austin Trout Decision (unanimous) BKFC 57

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

James Lilley Decision (unanimous) BKFC 45

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Tom Shoaff TKO (doctor stoppage) BKFC 34

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Elvin Brito Decision (unanimous) BKFC 26

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Martin Brown Decision (unanimous) BKFC KnuckleMania 2

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Dat Nguyen Decision (unanimous) BKFC 22

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Tyler Goodjohn Decision (unanimous) BKFC 18

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Jim Alers TKO (punches) BKFC 14

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Isaac Vallie-Flagg KO (punches) BKFC 11

Oxford, Mississippi, United States Win

Elvin Brito Decision (unanimous) BKFC 10

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States