BKFC champion Luis Palomino expressed disappointment in missing the BKFC 41 event but promised a problem if he were present when Conor McGregor entered the ring with a BKFC belt.
Two-division BKFC champion Luis Palomino is usually at the forefront of any major promotion events, but he expresses regret for missing out on the recent marquee card in April. BKFC 41 in Denver featured Mike Perry’s defeat of ex-UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in the main event, which concluded a massive night for the organization. The excitement continued when Perry called for a faceoff with UFC superstar Conor McGregor, who happened to be present at the event.
McGregor entered the ring, BKFC championship belt on his shoulder, and the fighters engaged in what was ultimately a friendly stare-down. However, Palomino believes the encounter would not have been as cordial if he had been in attendance. “Good thing I wasn’t there,” Palomino said, “It would have been a problem. I would have snatched that belt right off his shoulder. Who knows what else would have happened.”
McGregor’s appearance at the event, his social media posts, and his admission in interviews that he would like to compete in bare-knuckle fighting one day only helped to maintain the momentum that BKFC built that night. Although it seems unlikely that the UFC would ever allow McGregor to reach free agency and potentially sign with an organization like BKFC, Palomino would welcome the chance for a fight. Palomino took issue with McGregor carrying a BKFC title into the ring, saying, “You don’t come into my organization, grab the belt and start wearing it and you haven’t even debuted over here.”
A fight with McGregor might seem improbable, but Palomino is aware that stranger things have happened. McGregor’s 2017 boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, which resulted in one of the biggest pay-per-view events of all time, was once thought to be impossible. Palomino believes that if McGregor truly wanted to pursue a bare-knuckle fight, it could happen, and the Irish superstar would not back down from the challenge. “Everybody can say what they want about Conor but the dude is a warrior at the end of the day and he likes the challenge of fighting the best,” Palomino said, “That’s what separates him from the others. He would actually welcome that challenge of fighting the best and I am the best.” He added, “If that fight was ever to happen, if Conor was ever to take off the gloves, that would happen 100 percent guaranteed.”