Luis Palomino is undefeated in bareknuckle boxing after closing the door on his MMA career, and believes it’s time to cash in on the biggest fights possible.
Palomino, 42, has found his niche in BKFC, where he holds titles in the 155-pound and 170-pound divisions, and has yet to taste defeat through eight fights. While he looks like one of the best competitors in gloveless competition, Palomino admits he has had conversations with his family about when he will call an end to his fighting career.
However, before that time comes, he wants to cash a few big checks, and is willing to take on a certain UFC veteran known for his hard-nosed brawling style.
“I don’t care if we’re fighting at 155, if we’re fighting 165, if we’re doing a superfight at 170, because I’ll do a superfight against Mike Perry at 170,” Palomino told MMA Junkie radio. “All I care about is the number that goes next to the name. Whatever more numbers are with this name than that name, then I want the one that has more numbers. That’s what I care about.”
Perry, like Palomino, has found immediate success in bareknuckle competition after his UFC exit in 2021. After defeating Julian Lane in February, Perry won a drag-out war against Michael Page in August that required a sudden death round to determine the victor.
But Perry isn’t the only one on Palomino’s radar.
BKFC recently signed former boxing junior middleweight champion Austin Trout, who plans to compete in both arenas. The 37-year-old Trout carries a 36-5-1 pro boxing record, which looks like dollar signs to Palomino.
“If anything, this looks like my money fight,” Palomino said. “That’s what I’m looking for. All I care about is the numbers, man.”
The champ would like to see Trout take one fight in bareknuckle competition before he gets thorn into a title fight, but once he proves he can hang without gloves, Palomino is all in on the matchup.
“I think it will be a little hard on the guys in the rankings,” Palomino said. “You know, you just bring this guy because he was a champion in boxing, and give him a direct title shot without even proving himself to be able to do the job without gloves? So, I think as a respect to the rest of the fighters in the lineup and to the champ, do a fight, show us what you got.”
Palomino won three bareknuckle fights in 2022. He defeated Martin Brown and Elvin Leon Brito by unanimous decision, and then finished off his year with a fourth-round stoppage of Tom Shoaff.
