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Joe Schilling

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Joe Schilling

Joseph Francis Schilling (born January 13, 1984) is an American professional Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist who most recently competed for Bellator Kickboxing in the Middleweight division, and in the Middleweight division for Bellator MMA. He was released from Bellator in October 2020 after the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations refused to grant him a license to fight.

Known for his use of elbows to cut opponents and nicknamed "Stitch 'em Up", Schilling began fighting professionally in 2006 and was a two-time national titlist before defeating Kaoklai Kaennorsing to become the WBC Muay Thai Interim World Light Heavyweight Champion in 2011. His profile further increased the following year when he engaged in a controversial rivalry with Simon Marcus.

As of November 1, 2018, he was ranked the #7 middleweight kickboxer in the world by media outlet Combat Press; the ranking is not reflective of any official sanctioned sports body.

Schilling gained notoriety for a 2021 bar altercation where he assaulted a fellow patron. Schilling was later acquitted of charges of battery and negligence, on account of Florida's "stand your ground" law.

Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, Schilling was raised by a single mother alongside two other siblings. A troublesome child, Schilling was expelled from four different schools and took up Muay Thai at 15 years old, hoping that it would give him direction and focus. After being kicked out of the family home at 17, he worked odd jobs and began his fighting career in local Toughman Contests while living in a small property that his grandmother owned with his brother Kevin. After his grandmother died, Schilling moved to Los Angeles, California where he found work as a personal trainer at a YMCA. He met his future trainer and business partner Mark Komuro while training at the LA Boxing Club, in downtown Los Angeles. When that gym shut down, the pair moved to a spartan gym situated in a dilapidated structure that had formerly housed the Lincoln Heights city jail, with Schilling being announced at fights as fighting out of "The Jail." In keeping with that theme, when Schilling and Komuro decided to open their own gym, they were inspired to name it after the exercise area in prison, and in 2007 they opened The Yard, a Muay Thai gym located in Lincoln Heights.

After a short and unremarkable amateur career, Schilling turned professional on September 30, 2006, taking on Lawson Baker in an 84 kg/185 lb bout on ten days' notice in Inglewood, California. He recalls striking his opponent with all his might, only to watch him continue to advance unfazed. After being dropped multiple times and nearly throwing in the towel, Schilling finally found the one weapon that worked, elbows. 47 landed elbows later, he won his first professional Muay Thai fight by way of split decision.

Having amassed an undefeated record over the course of the next year, Schilling was given the opportunity to fight for the vacant International Karate Kickboxing Council (IKKC) United States Super Middleweight (-75 kg/165 lb) Muay Thai Championship against Russian import Denis Grachev in Highland, California, on November 29, 2007. Grachev defeated Schilling with a 47-second knockout in the first round after Grachev delivered a spinning heel kick to the body, as Schilling was unable to beat the referee's ten count.

Throughout 2008, he turned his focus towards mixed martial arts and amassed a 1–3 record in the sport with all of his bouts ending in a submission. Schilling also debuted as a professional boxer on December 20, 2008, and knocked out his opponent Orlando Brizzio in just five seconds, the fastest KO in American combat sports history. He made his return to Muay Thai in early 2009 and took wins over Chidi Njokuani and Chris Spång before experiencing a devastating loss to Wang Hong Xiang on August 30, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fighting under Sanshou rules for the first time, Schilling was repeatedly thrown and taken down throughout the bout and injured both of his knees. He was counted out by the referee in round two when he could not continue after a leg sweep. He required surgery on his knees after the fight which resulted in a year-long layoff.

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