Joe Schilling: Kickboxer, MMA fighter, and boxer?

Joe Schilling is a world class kickboxer fighting in GLORY, he returned to MMA after a six year absence with a KO of the year candidate vs. Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 131, and may be boxing for Spike’s Premier Boxing Champions series. Now Schilling fights Rafael Carvalho on Friday night at Bellator 136. Carvalho is on a ten-fight win streak, nine of them KOs.

“On my Instagram I have a hashtag for bucket list, and this year has been really insane,” said Schilling to Shaun Al-Shatti for MMAFighting.com. “Mike Tyson knows my name. I was just hanging out with Bill Goldberg the other night. Being able to train and roll with Rickson Gracie has been incredible. It’s like I’m living in a dream right now. All the opportunities that are coming and the explosion financially has just been phenomenal this year.”

“I’ve had ups and downs, knee surgeries, broken jaws, and it’s just nuts that once people started paying attention, now all the opportunities keep coming. It’s been amazing to feel this, meeting people that I’ve always looked up and respected, and hearing that they know who I am and they respect what I do. I’m seriously living out my own dream right now. I feel like I’m starring in my own movie.”

“I think that Bellator is making exciting match-ups for me, but they’re not giving me any favors. I mean, my first fight with Bellator was against a striker in MMA today who nobody wants to fight and it worked out really well. Now they’re giving me another guy on a 10-fight win streak, so they’re testing me the way that I should be. I feel challenged, and that’s when I do my best, when I feel like I’m being challenged and I’m ready to rise to the occasion.”

“I work really hard on my ground game and being well-rounded. I’m not going out there to be humiliated or to embarrass my team or my coaches. So it’s going to be a really good test for me. I don’t know if the fight is going to stay standing or not, but I’m prepared for anywhere the fight goes. I’m just really excited and looking forward to having a really good fight.”

Two sport athletes are a rarity. Three sport athletes are nearly unheard of. Schilling could become the poster child for Viacom’s Friday night fights. But before he gets there, there is a huge challenge for him this Friday.

And BTW he said Ronda Rousey would probably “Judo” throw him and submit him!