Joey "The Raging Warrior" Gambino

Hailing from Saugerties, NY, Joey Gambino built his professional MMA career on toughness and technical versatility. He opened his career with nine consecutive victories — an undefeated 9-0 record across promotions in the Northeast and Canada.

Eight of those nine wins came by stoppage: three KOs/TKOs and five submissions.

In October 2011, Gambino stopped Eddie Fyvie with punches in the second round at CFFC 11 to capture the Cage Fury Fighting Championships featherweight title. He followed that with an impressive five-round unanimous-decision win over Kenny Foster at CFFC 13, cementing himself as one of the Northeast's most promising featherweights.

In 2012, Gambino earned a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, entering with a perfect 9-0 professional record. He made his UFC debut on short notice against Steven Siler at UFC on FX 4 in Atlantic City before facing Diego Brandão at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro. He battled Brandão through all three rounds before losing by unanimous decision.

His two UFC appearances remain the only losses of his professional MMA career (9-2). A severe injury kept doctors from clearing him to fight for a year and his UFC contract was cut short.

Joey went on to build two successful companies while raising a family, coaching wrestling, cornering fellow fighters, and maintaining his fight stamina and skills — inside and outside the ring.

After nearly 14 years, Gambino returned to professional fighting in January 2026 with a dominating performance in his BKFC debut. At BKFC 86 at the Mohegan Sun Arena, he defeated Kurtis Ellis by second-round TKO at 1:08 — asserting his comeback to the fight arena.

Commentators have already predicted 2026 and 2027 as defining years for Gambino's much-anticipated return.