Preview: Bellator 229 ‘Koreshkov vs. Larkin’

Joe Schilling vs. Tony Johnson

Schilling is 35-year-old but states that he is just now focusing on his MMA career. This statement appears to be true, as he has won his last two bouts and looked greatly improved, particularly on the ground. Despite having a poor 4-5 professional MMA record, Schilling is a world-class athlete. He is a former muay Thai world champion and a former Glory Kickboxing king. While his striking acumen doesn’t transition perfectly over to the MMA, he is still a sensation in the standup department. The California native has very accurate hands that pack serious knockout power. His kicks are so powerful, they appear to be able to rip through a tree. He is also very strong in close quarters, where he fires off hard knees and earned the nickname “Stich ‘em up” due to his slicing elbows. He tends to drop his hands, looking to block a takedown leaving him open for a strike. He has been brutally knocked out in the past for making this mistake. After taking a three- year hiatus from the sport, Schilling looked greatly improved on the ground. In those victories, he was able to fight off takedown attempts and battered his foes with heavy ground-and-pound. Despite the improvements, he was taken down in his last bout to Keith Barry and struggled to get back to his feet.

Johnson returns to the Bellator cage after two years apart from the promotion. Since then, he picked up two wins to extend his winning streak to four with one of those wins being a decision over Alton Cunningham on Dana White’s Contender Series. The 8-2 professional fighter was absent from competition between 2008 and 2011 and once again from 2013 to 2017. Since returning, he has only managed to fight once a year. Johnson trains out of the illustrious American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California. The Strikeforce veteran is known for his bone-crushing power. His right hand is a lethal weapon but tends to look to land it too much, a tendency that makes him predictable. He likes to punish the body with punches and knees and throws hard leg kicks. The former middleweight turned light heavyweight makes the mistake of avoid strikes by simply pulling his head back and refuses to check leg kicks. He has been hurt by some low-level strikers in the past. Johnson is not much of a wrestler but does a good job at keeping his opponent on his back if he ends up on top, all while unleashes some devastating ground-and-pound.

If Schilling is looking for someone who is willing to trade fisticuffs with him, Johnson might be his guy. Johnson has some solid hands and could catch the chin of Schilling if he drops his hands. The former Glory kickboxing champion should have a field day tenderizing Johnson’s legs with kicks though. I want to pick Schilling, but I simply don’t trust him anymore. While he has appeared to make improvements, Berry’s wrestling was particularly problematic for him. Johnson could win a fight with Schilling on the feet, but his chances greatly increase if he looks to take the fight to the canvas. Johnson has to realize Schilling’s downfall is his grappling and look to exploit it. I predict Johnson abandons his usual boxing heavy style and takes Schilling down with wrestling throughout their encounter. This leads to a unanimous decision win for Johnson.