Joe Schilling: 'Bellator Needs to Cut Boring Fighters'
Joe Schilling: 'Bellator Needs to Cut Boring Fighters'
Kickboxing star Joe Schilling is willing to cross back over into MMA but he's not interested in fighting opponents who don't want to fight.
By Hunter Homistek
Joe Schilling rematches Hisaki Kato June 24 at Bellator Kickboxing 2, but revenge isn't on his mind.
For Schilling, fighting is about two things, and he'll have the chance to grab both when the lights go down in the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
"[I do this for] money and recognition," Schilling told FloCombat. "When I'm done fighting, I want my name to be written down to be remembered. I want people to think I changed the landscape of this sport in this country, and I think I've already done that with kickboxing…I think I may win some, I may lose some--especially with MMA--but people are never going to say that Joe Schilling was a boring fighter."
Considered one of the best kickboxers competing today, Schilling also dabbles in MMA, a career path that has produced unspectacular results to this point. He's 2-5 in MMA competition, going 1-2 inside the Bellator MMA cage. His most recent effort as a mixed martial artist ended via knockout, as Kato flattened him with a superman punch at Bellator 139--a strike which earned Knockout of the Year by several media outlets.
The loss is less important than the fireworks to Schilling, though. Win or lose, if the fans are happy and if the fight is exciting, he's pleased.
"I made this point to somebody the other day: I had three fights in Bellator," Schilling said. "My first fight was against Melvin Manhoef, and it was Knockout of the Year. My last fight in Bellator, I lost, but it was Knockout of the Year. So that's two out of three fights that were the best knockouts in two years in Bellator. I'm an exciting fighter that people want to see fight."
On the flipside, perhaps nothing annoys Schilling more than an opponent who is unwilling to reciprocate the violence. His first loss under the Bellator MMA banner came via split decision to current middleweight champ Rafael Carvalho. That fight--and Carvalho himself--do not sit well with Schilling.
"Carvalho is a boring guy that nobody should ever want to watch, who got gifted two decisions and is now champion," Schilling said. "Nobody is ever going to turn off a Joe Schilling fight. I promise you that."
While Schilling believes he should have been given the decision during their first encounter, he's not particularly interested in a rematch. Carvalho doesn't think like him. He doesn't fight like him. And Schilling just wants to throw down.
"I don't want to fight a boring fighter [like Carvalho]," Schilling said. "I'd much rather fight a guy like Melvin Manhoef. I've only had one boring fight in my whole career, and it was against Carvalho. I beat him, and they gave him the decision."
To Schilling, a boring fighter is expendable. Such a combatant should have no place in the fight game.
"I'm not even trying to spit fire at him [Carvalho], but I think Bellator should cut him, to be honest," Schilling said. "I think Bellator should cut boring fighters. That's not what builds this sport. That's not what builds the brand. And I think the executives at Bellator would agree with me. He's a boring fighter. That's all I'm saying."
Frustrations with Carvalho aside, Schilling has not tuned out the idea of returning to the MMA cage. While his last two efforts resulted in defeat, he believes the time and the place could come for him to test his skills once more in that realm of combat.
"There are some exciting matchups out there for me [in MMA] and I'm still willing to do it if my schedule, my opponents, and everything works out," Schilling said. "I would definitely continue to fight MMA."
Now, though, Kato stands in his way, and this time the fight will be contested in Schilling's house. As a true mixed martial artist, Kato enjoyed the advantages during their first fight. He was able to take Schilling down in Round 1, and the grappling threat directly led to the knockout in Round 2.
"When he knocked me out, we were standing about 10 feet away, and he takes off running at me," Schilling said. "When someone takes off running at you in an MMA fight, you can be about 90 percent sure he's going to shoot on you to take you down."
Instead, Kato threw the fight-ending superman punch. At Bellator Kickboxing 2, however, Schilling expects some distinct advantages of his own.
"I'd say I've show about 10 percent [of my total striking skills] in my Bellator MMA fights," Schilling said. "I just never felt comfortable in there…But kickboxing, man, I can do whatever I want.
"I've been doing this s--t since I was 15 years old. I could kickbox most of these guys drunk and still win, because I know what I'm doing. I'm that comfortable in there, and I think that's going to show Friday night."
Joe Schilling rematches Hisaki Kato June 24 at Bellator Kickboxing 2, but revenge isn't on his mind.
For Schilling, fighting is about two things, and he'll have the chance to grab both when the lights go down in the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
"[I do this for] money and recognition," Schilling told FloCombat. "When I'm done fighting, I want my name to be written down to be remembered. I want people to think I changed the landscape of this sport in this country, and I think I've already done that with kickboxing…I think I may win some, I may lose some--especially with MMA--but people are never going to say that Joe Schilling was a boring fighter."
Considered one of the best kickboxers competing today, Schilling also dabbles in MMA, a career path that has produced unspectacular results to this point. He's 2-5 in MMA competition, going 1-2 inside the Bellator MMA cage. His most recent effort as a mixed martial artist ended via knockout, as Kato flattened him with a superman punch at Bellator 139--a strike which earned Knockout of the Year by several media outlets.
The loss is less important than the fireworks to Schilling, though. Win or lose, if the fans are happy and if the fight is exciting, he's pleased.
"I made this point to somebody the other day: I had three fights in Bellator," Schilling said. "My first fight was against Melvin Manhoef, and it was Knockout of the Year. My last fight in Bellator, I lost, but it was Knockout of the Year. So that's two out of three fights that were the best knockouts in two years in Bellator. I'm an exciting fighter that people want to see fight."
On the flipside, perhaps nothing annoys Schilling more than an opponent who is unwilling to reciprocate the violence. His first loss under the Bellator MMA banner came via split decision to current middleweight champ Rafael Carvalho. That fight--and Carvalho himself--do not sit well with Schilling.
"Carvalho is a boring guy that nobody should ever want to watch, who got gifted two decisions and is now champion," Schilling said. "Nobody is ever going to turn off a Joe Schilling fight. I promise you that."
While Schilling believes he should have been given the decision during their first encounter, he's not particularly interested in a rematch. Carvalho doesn't think like him. He doesn't fight like him. And Schilling just wants to throw down.
"I don't want to fight a boring fighter [like Carvalho]," Schilling said. "I'd much rather fight a guy like Melvin Manhoef. I've only had one boring fight in my whole career, and it was against Carvalho. I beat him, and they gave him the decision."
To Schilling, a boring fighter is expendable. Such a combatant should have no place in the fight game.
"I'm not even trying to spit fire at him [Carvalho], but I think Bellator should cut him, to be honest," Schilling said. "I think Bellator should cut boring fighters. That's not what builds this sport. That's not what builds the brand. And I think the executives at Bellator would agree with me. He's a boring fighter. That's all I'm saying."
Frustrations with Carvalho aside, Schilling has not tuned out the idea of returning to the MMA cage. While his last two efforts resulted in defeat, he believes the time and the place could come for him to test his skills once more in that realm of combat.
"There are some exciting matchups out there for me [in MMA] and I'm still willing to do it if my schedule, my opponents, and everything works out," Schilling said. "I would definitely continue to fight MMA."
Now, though, Kato stands in his way, and this time the fight will be contested in Schilling's house. As a true mixed martial artist, Kato enjoyed the advantages during their first fight. He was able to take Schilling down in Round 1, and the grappling threat directly led to the knockout in Round 2.
"When he knocked me out, we were standing about 10 feet away, and he takes off running at me," Schilling said. "When someone takes off running at you in an MMA fight, you can be about 90 percent sure he's going to shoot on you to take you down."
Instead, Kato threw the fight-ending superman punch. At Bellator Kickboxing 2, however, Schilling expects some distinct advantages of his own.
"I'd say I've show about 10 percent [of my total striking skills] in my Bellator MMA fights," Schilling said. "I just never felt comfortable in there…But kickboxing, man, I can do whatever I want.
"I've been doing this s--t since I was 15 years old. I could kickbox most of these guys drunk and still win, because I know what I'm doing. I'm that comfortable in there, and I think that's going to show Friday night."