Schilling: Big kickboxing bout not comparable to mid level MMA fight
Joe Schilling: “I’ve been in the big fights in kickboxing, but a big fight in kickboxing is not even comparable to a mid-level MMA fight as far as exposure and financial gain.”
Much is made about the small purses in mixed martial arts, but kickboxing is worse.
Joe Schilling is a world-class kickboxer, on a five-fight win streak, whose career wins include Kaoklai Kaennorsing, Chidi Njokuani, and Artem Levin. For two periods he competed in kickboxing and MMA more or less simultaneously, going 2-5 in the latter. Of note, the two wins included a 2014 KO of the Year candidate vs. Melvin Manhoef at Bellator 131. Now Schilling, 34, tells Mike Bohn for MMAjunkie that his focus going forward is on MMA, and he will be fighting for Bellator MMA.
I would f***ing kill me back then [in 2014/2015], said Schilling. I’ve spent maybe five camps with Donald Cerrone now and been involved in a lot of MMA camps since then. I just did my first jiu-jitsu tournament a few weeks ago, and that went well. Mickey Gall just moved out here, I’ve been working with him a lot. Yves Edwards is coaching me. Even Matt Brown. I’ve been getting more well rounded.
Before it was like, ‘Oh, I’m just going to do MMA when I can’t get kickboxing fights.’ It was just a side-hustle thing. Now it’s just what it is. It’s full-on MMA from now on. I think for a long time when I had my foot on both I was still relying and focusing on kickboxing and not really going all in on MMA. I’ve been training MMA consistently for the past year now, and it worked out.
I’m still at 185, but there’s a lot of interesting matchups at welterweight. I’m willing to go up in weight; I’m willing to go down in weight. I could make 170 with the right matchup and the right motivation. For Wanderlei or ‘Rampage’ I would go up to heavyweight. I want to be part of big fights. I’ve been in the big fights in kickboxing, but a big fight in kickboxing is not even comparable to a mid-level MMA fight as far as exposure and financial gain. I want to be part of big fights and big, exciting matchups.
I think I have to get some fights in there and show people this is a different Joe Schilling than the last one three years ago. Paul Daley would be f***ing fireworks. It would be a f***ing war. Some big fights and some stylistically good matchups.”