Four weeks ago, Will Morris received a phone call that presented him the biggest fight of his life—a bout against Bellator MMA star Joe Schilling.

Many fighters would accept on the spot, but Morris didn’t want to make an impulsive miscalculation. 

Long ago, the 6’2” lightweight set up a system where his team—as a whole—has to give approval in order for him to take a fight. He needed to make sure his decision was honest and level-headed. 

“I told them initially, ‘If you put the contract in my hands I’m gonna sign it,’” Morris said in an interview with FloCombat. “‘That’s why I have you guys.’

“Me and my entire team were back and forth about what we should do. Were we pushing something that was a little too soon? We’d like to have a little more time to prepare for a guy like this. Everyone was really wishy-washy, back-and-forth.”

After watching tape, Morris was able to reaffirm with himself, as well as to convince his team, the opportunity to fight Schilling was perfect.

A lightweight fighting a middleweight?

Weight classes are arbitrary, says “The Blue Chip.”

“I want to define myself as not being defined by a weight class,” Morris said. “I don’t need a 155-pound division to have a life at the highest levels of MMA. I don’t need welterweight. I want to prove and show people that the weight doesn’t matter. 

“If I can make the weight—whether it’s having to lose weight or whether it’s having to gain weight—pure weight should never be an issue. I feel that’s part of being a martial artist. If you can’t account for weight and weight alone, then that’s a flaw.”

A former Glory Kickboxing champion, Schilling is beloved by MMA fans for his flashy skillset and eccentric knockouts. Surprisingly, Morris says he accepted the fight once he saw on video how many flaws Schilling has in his stand-up.

“I’m standing and trading,” Morris said. “That’s one thing I saw. I looked at all of his kickboxing fights back when he was the sh*t and based our decision off of what I saw then. I’m preparing for him in his prime.

“If I didn’t think I could beat him on the feet, I would have never taken the fight. I totally intend on standing and banging with him—and making it an exciting fight for everyone.”