Since Scott Coker took the reigns at Bellator, the promotion has become more of a spectacle, featuring cards with more recognizable names. With attractions like Kimbo Slice and crossover stars like Bobby Lashley, Bellator has been using its stable of big names to gain ratings.
When it comes to crossover stars, none may be more exciting or violent than Joe Schilling. As a kickboxing star promoted by both Bellator and Glory, Schilling splits his time between the promotions, both of which air on Spike TV.
“Splitting time between Glory and Bellator has been so far, so good to this point,” Schilling told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. “The plan is to win this fight at Bellator 139 and to finish the year fighting for Glory.”
At Bellator 131, Schilling made a return to mixed martial arts when he took on Melvin Manhoef. It was his first MMA bout since 2008, when Schilling shifted his focus to his primary sport, kickboxing.
In that bout, he brutally put down Manhoef, who is also a kickboxer. It was considered one of the best knockouts of 2014, which instilled more confidence in Schilling to return to the cage.
With that said, he followed the win up with a bout at Bellator 136 against Rafael Carvalho. In a bout that was expected to be a striking affair, Carvalho took a snoozer of a decision by electing to stay away from striking and focus on grappling with Schilling instead.
“I took that loss badly,” Schilling confessed. “That loss seriously irritates the s–t out of me. I still think I won that fight. I was especially pissed at the one judge that gave Carvalho all three rounds. He had to be either drunk or blind.”
That loss still haunts Schilling. It’s the reason he made a move to round out his game and sought help from a group of great trainers and training partners.
“My goal from now on is to stop boring fighters,” Schilling vowed. “In my last fight, Carvalho fought like a vagina. Because of that fight with him, I have been working with American Top Team on my wrestling. Nobody is going to make my fights boring anymore.”
This year also saw Schilling involved in an entertaining Twitter beef with MMA veteran Phil Baroni. Baroni, who last competed with Bellator about a year ago, campaigned for a fight with Schilling and took some personal jabs to elicit a response from Schilling.
“The whole beef with Phil Baroni was blown out of proportion,” Schilling explained. “Honestly, he is irrelevant. That’s why he called out my name, to get his name back out there. He used Twitter to start s–t with me.”
It started with a lot of one-sided chirping from Baroni trying to provoke Schilling. However, at some point, Schilling decided he had to respond, regardless of the circumstances. As he claimed to Bleacher Report, his response came as a result of some behind-the-scenes trash-talking that infuriated him.
“I was going to ignore him, but then a mutual friend showed me a text from him that had some racial stuff that really pissed me off,” Schilling revealed. “My girlfriend and kids have black in them, so that really made me furious when I saw his texts. That said, even if I wanted to fight that irrelevant joke, I doubt any state athletic commission would sanction it.”
Looking ahead to Bellator 139, Schilling takes on Bellator newcomer Hisaki Kato. Kato is a 4-2 fighter who has finished all of his wins via knockout.
It seems like this should be a good matchup, as, in theory, he would entertain Schilling on the feet. However, Schilling has another theory about how this fight may go, despite Kato’s skill set.
“Honestly, I don’t know much about him,” Schilling mentioned. “He’s a wild card coming into this bout trying to make a name for himself off me. My guess is that he goes the route of most other guys and tries to lay-and-pray his way to victory.”
Regardless of the outcome Friday night, Schilling has long-term goals, not only for Glory, but for Bellator as well.
“My plan is to be in Bellator for a long time, make as much money as possible, keep getting fights, keep getting better and eventually become champion.”
Expect Schilling to keep busy between MMA and kickboxing. He plans to keep stacking them up, knocking them down and living up to his nickname, Stitch ‘Em Up.
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