Luis Vicente Palomino[1] (born October 9, 1980) is a Peruvian-American mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle fighter and is the current lightweight champion of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Palomino began his career with a 3–0 record in the Absolute Fighting Championship promotion, one of which being a victory over future The Ultimate Fighter 7 competitor Jeremy May via unanimous decision.
In his final fight prior to joining Bellator, Palomino fought John Mahlow for the XFC Lightweight Championship, in a bout that was featured on the Inside MMA show.
[8] His opponent at Bellator 6 was Nick Gonzalez and Palomino defeated him via TKO (punches) in the second minute of the first round.
Palomino lost his first fight to eventual The Ultimate Fighter winner Jonathan Brookins via submission (rear naked choke) in the second round.
Palomino followed the loss up with two victories including wins over Rafael Dias by TKO and Jorge Masvidal via split decision.
Palomino returned at CFA 04: Izquierdo vs. Cenoble on December 17, 2011 in Coral Gables, Florida against well known journeyman Charles Bennett.
Palomino next faced 2x Hero's Grand Prix winner and Strikeforce veteran Gesias Cavalcante at CFA 07: Never Give Up on 30 June 2012 in Coral Gables, Florida.
Palomino won the fight via unanimous decision and advanced to the four-man BKFC Super Welterweight Tournament finals.
[21] 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.
[22] 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.
[29] He successfully defended his title by defeating Martin Brown at BKFC: KnuckleMania 2 on February 19, 2022 via unanimous decision.
[30] Palomino faced James Lilley and defended his lightweight title on June 23, 2023 at BKFC 45: Hollywood and won by unanimous decision.
[32] Palomino is scheduled to face Howard Davis on March 21, 2025 in the main event at BKFC Fight Night: Hollywood, FL.