TEMECULA, Calif. – Maybe this mixed martial arts thing just isn’t for Joe Schilling.
An outstanding kickboxer, Schilling has been on the wrong end of several bad moments during his attempts to cross over to MMA, the latest of which happened Friday night during the middleweight main-card opener of Bellator 229.
Schilling (4-6 MMA, 3-3 BMMA), who seemed well on his way to victory in a battle of attrition against San Jose’s Tony Johnson, threw an elbow, then left himself wide open for a wicked counter left hand to the jaw which knocked him cold.
The time of the stoppage was 2:07 of Round 3, as Johnson (8-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) won his fifth consecutive fight.
Schilling followed what seemed a sound game plan in the opening round, as he utilized calf kicks to keep his opponent off balance. Late in the round, though, the finish was foreshadowed, as Johnson caught him with a counter in close, dropped him, and got him into a guillotine choke before Schilling got back to his feet.
Schilling regained control of the fight in the second, but the tough Johnson had his moments, too, and it was clear he wasn’t going away any time soon.
In the third, a bloodied Johnson continued to wade through Schilling shots until he found his opening for the knockout blow. Johnson landed a right to the downed Schilling before the bout was waved off.
The victory marked Johnson’s fifth KO/TKO victory, while Schilling has been stopped in five of his six losses.
Bellator 229 takes place Friday at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif. The main card middleweight bout aired on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 229 results include:
- Tony Johnson def. Joe Schilling via KO (punch) — Round 3, 2:07
- Salim Mukhidinov def. Adel Altamimi via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
- Anatoly Tokov def. Hracho Darpinyan via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 4:38
