Joe Schilling is a professional mixed martial artist. He holds a professional record of 4-6.
'Stitch 'em up' Schilling began his career as a professional mixed martial artist in January 2008 at ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series. His professional debut was unsuccessful as the American fighter was submitted by his opponent, Matt Makowski, via rear-naked choke. At the time, Joe Schilling was competing as a 170-pound fighter.
Schilling went on to level the score on his professional record before running into another loss at the hands of 'El Cucuy' Tony Ferguson. The welterweight fighters met at Total Fighting Alliance 12 in September 2008. Tony Ferguson submitted Joe Schilling via rear-naked choke midway through the second round of their fight. The loss brought Joe Schilling's record to 1-2.
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After picking up another submission loss the same month, Joe Schilling took a break from competing in professional MMA. Instead, he focused on his career in professional kickboxing, where he holds a much better record: 23-9, with 13 KOs.
Joe Schilling returned to the MMA cage under the banner of Bellator MMA in November 2014 but moved up to the middleweight division. In his comeback fight, he knocked Melvin Manhoef out in the opening moments of the second round of their bout at Bellator 131.
Schilling last fought at Bellator 229 in October 2019. His opponent, Tony Johnson, knocked him out in the third round of their fight. Bellator MMA released Schilling following the fight.
Why has Joe Schilling been in the news of late?
Joe Schilling was recently involved in a scuffle in a bar. He was walking by when he was called back by a person, following which the two exchanged some words that were not heard in the scene's footage.
The next thing we saw was Joe Schilling executing a combo on the person and knocking him out.
Joe Schilling posted a video of the incident on his own Instagram account. The post was removed by the social media platform, citing a violation of community guidelines categorized as "harassment or bullying."
Joe Schilling posted a screenshot of the same, arguing that what he did was an act of self-defense. He wrote:
"Self defense is apparently not what this country is about anymore. dont trip I got the video love you guys thanks for the concern and support during my life threatening experience. Big shout out to @theyardmuaythai for preparing me for this life threatening situation."