An Iranian wrestler raised as a farmer, Kamal Shalorus did not begin competing in mixed martial arts until his mid 30s, when he moved to the United States and began training in Texas. During his time as a grappler, he represented Great Britain in an Olympic qualification tournament and holds a notable grappling victory over Joachim Hansen in the European ADCC Qualifiers.

Making his MMA debut in 2008, Shalorus quickly reeled off 4 victories en route to signing with the WEC in 2009, where he defeated Will Kerr and Dave Jansen before running into former Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner in June of 2010. Varner did more damage on the feet, Shalorus had a point deducted, and the fight was controversially ruled a Majority Draw, which left neither fighter satisfied.

A powerful puncher with an extremely strong wrestling base, Shalorus has been talked about by many as a future contender for the lightweight belt in the WEC, but his age means he will have to work fast to establish a long-term MMA legacy.

Shalorus managed to win one more fight, a Split Decision over Bart Palaszewski, extending his WEC record to 3-0-1 before the WEC was merged with the UFC. Unfortunately his UFC career didn't go as well, as he lost his next 3 fights, being stopped in consecutive bouts by Jim Miller (TKO), Khabib Nurmagomedov (submission) and Rafael Dos Anjos (submission). After 3 losses he was released from the promotion. He was next expected to face Eduard Folayang at ONE FC 9. Shalorus defeated Folayang via unanimous decision after three rounds.