With two BKFC titles around his waist, Luis Palomino wants Chad Mendes as next challenge

Official news, announcements, interviews, photos, of Bare Knuckle by MMJunkie.com

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Luis Palomino said if he became a two-division BKFC champion, there’d be no denying his status in the sport.

Two titles, Palomino reasoned, would make him bareknuckle boxing’s GOAT. Friday, the BKFC lightweight champion moved up a division to challenge Elvin Brito for the welterweight title. He took that belt with a unanimous decision in the BKFC 26 headliner at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Their fight was a rematch from early 2020, which Palomino also won in his bareknuckle debut.

After winning his second title, Palomino, whose MMA experience includes a win over Jorge Masvidal, said Brito brought a level he wasn’t necessarily expecting.

“To be very honest, I thought it was going to be a dogfight,” Palomino told MMA Junkie after the fight. “The way I looked at Brito, he had two options: Either he comes over here and plays it safe as the champion – because most champions will play it safe; you’ve got to come after the champion. So either you play it safe and you try to box me, which we already know what happens when you try to box me. I already outboxed him (in our first fight).

“Or you come and you go for broke. And that man went for broke. He made the fight as dirty as he can do it, he ducked his head as much as he can – my hand can show how he did that. But we put the pressure on him. We had better conditioning, better cardio, better angles and we just pressed it on him.”

Now Palomino is targeting a fight with former UFC standout Chad Mendes, who made his BKFC debut in February with a fourth-round knockout of Joshuah Alvarez.

And the native of Peru said he wants to bring that fight to his home country, then join Mendes to walk one of the famed Inca Trails to Machu Picchu after the bout, regardless of the outcome.

“What’s next? Peru. 1,000 percent, Peru,” Palomino said. “I have an entire country that, they’re fight lovers out there. … I want to bring this world championship to Peru, and who better than Chad Mendes? I’m asking for Chad Mendes. Chad, I’m said it, I’m going to say it one more time: If you take this fight, win or lose … I invite you to check out Machu Picchu and we’ll do the Inca Trail together. That’s my offer.”

Check out the complete interview with Palomino in the video above.